W  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^ 


Purchased  by  the  Hamill  Missionary  Fund. 


DT  625   .M2  1896 

McAllister,  Agnes. 

A  lone  woman  in  Africa 


Digitized  by 

tine  Internet  Archive 

in  2015 

https://archive.org/cletails/ionewomaninafricOOmcal_0 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa 


OEC  4 

SIX  YEARS  ON  THE  KROO  COAST, 


AGNES  McAllister 

MISSIONARY  UNUliK  UlSIlOl'  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 


NEW  YORK:  EATON  &  MAINS 
CINCINNATI  :  JENNINGS  &  PYE 


Copyright  by 
HUNT  &  EATON, 
1896. 


Composition,  electrotypiiig, 
printing,  and  binding  by 
Hunt  &  Eaton, 
150  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York, 


c<y\\ '^^^     >t  (H^  y^'p-x^  ^^^^^^^^  ^-f 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Introduction  by  Bishop  William  Taylor,      ...  5 
CHAPTER  1. 

The  Call  to  the  Work  11 

CHAPTER  II. 
First  Days  in  School,         ......  28 

CHAPTER  111. 
The  War  47 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  End  of  the  War  68 

CHAPTER  V. 
Liberia — Its  People,  Languages,  and  Customs,  .       .  85 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Burying  the  Dead  100 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Native  Theology  and  Morals,     .       .       .       .  .116 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Incidents  of  Missionary  Life  .130 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Visiting  Neighboring  Tribes,      .       .       .       .  .146 

CHAPTER  X. 
In  Journeyings  Oft,    .......  161 


V 

8  Contents. 

CHAPTER  XI.  rAGK 
Ups  and  Downs,  1 79 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Sasswood  Palaver,     .       .       .       .       .       .  .193 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
The  African  Woman,         .       .       .       .       .  .210 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Farming. — African  Curios,        .....  233 

CHAPTER  XV. 
House-building. — The  Liquor  Curse,  ....  255 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
A  Revival  270 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa,  ....  Frontispiece 

Miss  Agnes  McAllister  10 

Garrav/ay  Mission  House,  .        ....  25 

Men  of  Garraway,      .......  33 

A  Trio  of  Witch  Doctors  135 

Children  in  an  African  Maize  Field,   .        .        .  .216 

Woman's  Work  in  Africa,  .       .....  222 

African  Curios. — I.     .......  240 

African  Curios.— II  248 

West  African  House,  254 


Miss  Agnes  McAllister, 

OF  GAIJRAWAY  MISSION,  LIliEKIA. 


A  LONE  WOMAN  IN  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  CALL  TO  THE  WORK. 

"There  is  Time  enough  yet." — Full  Surrender. — A  Voice  out 
of  the  Night. — Off  for  Africa. — Monrovia. — Appointed  to 
Garravvay. — The  first  Saljbath. 

WHILE  attending  Sabbath  school  in  the 
old  log  schoolhouse  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  my  home,  and  listening  to  the  ser- 
mons of  the  Methodist  preachers,  my  heart 
was  drawn  to  Jesus. 

I  well  remember  one  Sabbath  afternoon. 
The  pastor,  Rev.  Mr.  Swan,  had  announced 
that  he  would  preach  a  sermon  to  the  children. 
We  sat  in  our  classes  with  our  teachers,  the 
infant  class  in  front.  I  was  in  the  infant  class, 
on  the  very  front  row  ;  and  I  well  remember 
that  my  feet  did  not  touch  the  floor,  for  I  was 
but  seven  years  old.  Miss  Jennie  Trever,  our 
teacher,  sat  at  the  end  of  the  same  seat. 

The  preacher  took  for  his  text,  "  There  is 
time  enough  yet."    I  have  forgotten  most  that 


12       A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

he  said.  But  one  story  which  he  told  I  have 
never  forgotten.  He  said  tliat  in  a  certain 
place  a  little  boy  and  girl  lived,  with  their 
mother,  very  near  the  sea  ;  and  one  day  the 
children  begged  of  their  mother  to  let  them 
go  down  to  the  seaside  to  play.  She  let  them 
go,  but  told  them  that  they  must  not  stay  too 
long,  as  the  tide  would  be  coming  in  and  they 
might  be  overtaken  and  drowned. 

They  went  down  to  the  beach,  and  found  an 
old  man  sitting  there.  After  they  had  played 
for  a  little  while  they  said,  "  We  must  go 
home."  But  the  old  man  said,  "  There  is  no 
hurry  ;  there  is  plenty  of  time  yet."  So  the 
children  went  back  to  play,  but  after  a  short 
time  said  again,  "  Well,  it  is  time  to  go  now." 
But  the  old  man  replied,  "  You  need  not  hur- 
ry." "  O,"  they  said,  "  but  our  mother  told  us 
not  to  stay  long  because  of  the  tide.  We 
would  better  go  now."  "Yes,"  said  the  old  man, 
"  but  there  is  plenty  of  time.  There  is  time 
enough  yet  to  have  anothergood  play."  So  the 
children  went  back  to  play,  and  the  tide  came 
rushing  in,  and  they  were  both  carried  out  to 
sea  and  drowned. 

By  this  story  the  preacher  showed  what  God 
meant  when  he  said  that  now  was  the  time  to 
seek  salvation.  There  was  danger  in  delay. 
The  devil,  like  the  old  man,  was  trying  to  per- 


The  Call  to  tiik  Work. 


13 


suade  us  to  put  off  the  decision  ;  not  by  say- 
ing,  "  Don't  go  home,"  but  just,  "  There  is 
time  enough  yet."  God  had  warned  us  that 
there  was  danger,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
drawing  our  liearts  to  himself  ;  and  it  was  for 
us  to  decide  whether  we  would  give  him  our 
hearts  now,  while  we  were  young,  or  listen  to 
the  devil  and  be  lost.  That  very  afternoon  I 
decided  that  I  would  give  God  my  heart,  for 
there  was  not  "  time  enough  yet."  Then  and 
there  I  yielded  my  heart  to  God,  and  from  that 
time  I  sought  to  do  God's  will. 

But  it  was  not  until  I  was  fifteen  that  I 
joined  the  church,  for  I  was  surrounded  by 
people  that  did  not  believe  in  children's  being 
converted  ;  and  even  at  the  age  of  fifteen  I 
was  considered  too  young  to  decide  such  a 
question.  I  had  never  heard  much  about  holi- 
ness or  a  complete  surrender  to  the  will  of 
God,  and  my  highest  aim  was  to  be  a  good 
girl  and  keep  the  law  of  God,  to  trust  in  Jesus 
Christ  for  salvation,  and  to  get  to  heaven.  I 
was  not  very  strong,  and  this  world  did  not 
have  much  attraction  for  me  ;  and  even  in  my 
girlhood  days  I  often  wished  and  prayed  God 
that  I  might  not  live  long. 

At  nineteen  years  of  age  I  attended  a  meet- 
ing where  the  minister  took  for  his  text,  "  Fol- 
low peace  with  all  men,  and  holiness,  without 
2 


14       A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


which  no  man  shall  sec  the  Lord."  I  listened 
attentively  to  him  as  he  made  plain  to  us  that 
the  Holy  Ghost  was  come  to  be  our  Comforter 
and  Guide,  and  would  abide  with  us  if  we 
would  receive  him.  I  learned  that  there  was 
a  new  joy  and  a  bright  side  to  life  that  I  had 
not  yet  seen  ;  and  I,  among  others,  answered 
the  invitation  and  went  to  the  altar  to  sur- 
render myself  to  God  and  receive  all  that  he 
had  for  me.  As  we  stood  there  while  the 
minister  talked  to  us  before  kneeling  my 
strength  gave  way,  and  I  sank  to  the  floor  and 
made  a  complete  surrender,  saying,  "All  I 
have  I  give  to  Thee."  God  accepted  me,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  so  filled  my  heart  that  I  knew 
I  had  stepped  on  new  ground  ;  and  I  rejoiced 
as  never  before. 

I  went  on  for  some  time  rejoicing  in  the 
Lord,  but  always  burdened  for  others.  I  had 
taken  part  in  the  public  prayer  meetings  be- 
fore this.  But  now  I  felt  that  I  must  speak  to 
persons  about  their  souls.  I  was  not  always 
kindly  received  in  doing  so.  To  satisfy  my 
desire  to  do  something  for  Christ  I  used  to 
write  short  notes — any  words  that  I  thought 
might  arrest  the  readers'  attention  and  make 
them  think — and  then  as  I  went  along  the 
street  I  would  give  them  to  those  whom  I  met. 
I  generally  had  a  number  ready  on  prayer 


The  Call  to  the  Work.  15 


meeting  night,  unci  as  I  went  through  the 
park  I  would  drop  tlicni  near  the  scats,  to  be 
picked  u[)  by  the  chance  passer-by.  I  always 
folded  these  papers  in  the  shape  of  notes, 
thinking  so  to  induce  the  finder  to  examine 
them. 

I  began  to  think  more  seriously  about  the 
heathen,  and  to  consider  whether  I  might  not 
be  able  to  go  and  take  the  good  news  of  salva- 
tion to  those  in  darkness.  But  I  was  surprised 
at  myself  for  letting  such  a  thought  ever  enter 
my  mind,  for  I,  of  all  persons,  seemed  to  be 
the  most  unlikely  ever  to  go  far  from  home. 
So  I  reasoned  with  myself  and  wondered  and 
asked  the  Lord  what  he  would  have  me  do, 
feeling  satisfied  in  myself  that  this  was  only  a 
passing  thought.  But  the  burden  grew  heav- 
ier, and  I  became  more  and  more  concerned 
for  others,  until  a  Christian  lady  to  whom  I 
had  confided  my  feelings  said  she  thought  it 
very  possible  that  the  Lord  was  calling  me  to 
the  work,  and  if  so  he  would  make  it  plain  in 
answer  to  prayer. 

Although  I  had  given  myself  to  God  entire- 
ly and  thought  I  was  ready  to  do  anything  for 
him,  yet  I  found  that  a  missionary's  life,  as  I 
conceived  it,  was  not  pleasing  to  me.  I  hoped 
it  might  not  be  my  lot,  for  I  did  not  then  look 
at  it  as  a  privilege  to  go  to  labor  among  the 


i6       A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


heathen.  Nevertheless,  I  knew  that  the  will 
of  the  Lord  was  the  only  safe  guide  for  me, 
and  I  prayed  that  I  might  know  with  certainty 
what  he  would  have  me  do,  promising  that  if 
he  would  only  make  his  will  known  beyond 
doubt  I  would  go  even  to  a  foreign  land. 

After  some  days  spent  in  prayer  and  serious 
thought  the  Lord  declared  his  will.  I  was  sit- 
ting in  the  house  in  the  evening,  just  as  it 
grew  dark  and  quiet,  when  I  thought  I  heard 
a  step  on  the  walk.  Then  there  came  a  knock 
at  the  side  door.  I  expected  a  friend  to  spend 
the  evening  with  me.  As  I  opened  the  door, 
however,  and  looked  out  into  the  dark  no  one 
was  visible  ;  but  I  heard  a  voice  plainly  say,  "  I 
want  you  to  be  a  missionary."  I  recognized 
that  this  message  was  the  answer  to  my  prayer. 
I  stood  silent  for  a  moment,  then  came  in  and 
closed  the  door.  But  I  did  not  answer  the 
call.  I  did  not  say,  "  Yes,  I  will  go."  When 
I  went  to  dinner  it  seemed  as  if  the  food 
would  choke  me.  I  felt  as  if  some  person  was 
following  me,  as  I  went  about  the  house  from 
room  to  room,  saying,  "  Now  what  do  you 
say?  Will  you  go?  Will  you  be  a  mission- 
ary ?  "  The  burden  became  so  great  that  at 
last  I  sat  down  and  cried,  then  bowed  before 
my  Saviour  and  said,  "  Yes,  Lord.  Grant  me 
rest.    I  will  go.    I  will  do  anything."    So  it 


The  Cai-l  to  the  Work.  17 


was  all  settled.  1  know  it  was  from  the  Lord, 
During  all  the  time  1  have  spent  in  Africa — 
six  years  and  two  months — I  have  never  once 
doubted  the  fact  that  the  Lord  had  called  me 
to  the  work. 

I  wrote  to  my  parents.  Mother  wrote  back, 
"  Well,  I  always  thought  you  would  do  some- 
thing of  the  kind."  My  friends  were  not  sur- 
prised ;  and  this  made  it  much  easier  for  me. 
The  Lord  gave  me  the  privilege  of  spending 
some  time  in  school  in  special  preparation  for 
the  work,  and  I  enjoyed  some  practical  expe- 
rience in  city  mission  and  revival  work,  which 
was  one  of  the  best  things  I  could  have  done 
to  prepare  me  to  deal  with  the  heathen.  For 
human  nature  is  the  same  in  all  lands,  and 
many  of  the  same  excuses  that  we  meet  in  the 
home  land  we  meet  in  heathendom. 

In  reading  the  account  of  Bishop  Taylor's 
work  in  7\frica,  my  mind  was  drawn  in  that  di- 
rection. The  appeal  to  the  Church,  "  Who 
will  come  over  and  help  us  among  these  poor 
dark  sisters  ?  "  touched  my  heart,  and  I  offered 
myself  and  was  accepted.  In  1888  I  sailed  for 
the  west  coast  of  Africa,  and  was  stationed  at 
Garraway,  in  Liberia,  where  I  have  been  ever 
since.  Many  a  day,  when  the  work  has  been 
hard  and  everything  has  looked  dark,  I  have 
thanked  God  that  it  was  by  no  choice  of  mine 


i8       A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


that  1  was  in  this  place,  and  that,  no  matter 
what  liad  come  or  might  come,  I  knew  tiiat  1 
was  called  of  God  to  the  work.  Thus  I  was 
never  once  discouraged.  All  the  time  I  have 
praised  God  that,  although  the  way  was  rough, 
yet  it  was  bright  to  me. 

Parting  with  home  and  friends,  and  all  our 
familiar  surroundings,  to  go  to  an  unknown  land 
is  always  hard.  When  I  went  out  to  Africa,  it 
seemed  a  much  greater  undertaking  than  it 
does  now.  It  was  like  burying  me;  for  few 
thought  that  I  would  ever  return.  Nor  had  I 
any  assurance  myself  that  I  should  ever  see 
the  faces  of  my  friends  again.  But  the  ways 
of  the  Lord  are  past  finding  out.  His  ways 
are  not  ours.  I  found  kind  friends  on  every 
liand  to  help  me.  As  I  knew  that  I  was  going 
to  the  most  unlikely  place  in  the  world  to  pro- 
cure articles  for  personal  use,  or  for  house- 
keeping, I  supplied  myself  well  with  clothing. 
Many  kind  people  who  were  interested  in  me 
gave  me  quilts  and  blankets  and  dishes  as  well 
as  dried  fruits  and  other  things  which  they 
thought  would  be  useful. 

On  December  13,  1888,  we  sailed — a  party 
of  fourteen — from  New  York  harbor  for  Ham- 
burg. We  had  a  pleasant  voyage,  and  entered 
the  Elbe  on  the  day  before  Christmas.  We 
had  to  wait  in  Germany  until  the  third  of  Jan- 


The  Call  to  the  Work. 


19 


uary  for  a  steamer  going  down  the  African 
coast.  On  that  day  wc  set  sail  for  the  field  of 
our  labor.  At  first  the  weather  was  pleasant, 
and  all  went  well ;  but  when  wc  came  to  the 
Bay  of  Biscay  most  of  our  party  were  down 
with  seasickness.  I  was  very  sick  for  three 
days,  and  really  felt  as  thougli  I  would  as  lief 
die  as  live.  But  we  got  through  the  bad  water, 
and  all  were  bright  and  happy  again.  We 
found  it  getting  much  warn\er  as  we  steamed 
southward. 

When  we  came  to  Madeira,  the  young  Por- 
tuguese boys  came  out  to  dive  for  money. 
They  stayed  around  the  ship  all  day,  calling 
out  to  the  passengers  on  deck,  "  A  penny  for  a 
dive,  sir!"  "Sixpence  for  a  dive,  sir !  "  "One 
shilling,  and  I  will  go  under  the  ship,  sir!" 
As  the  passengers  would  throw  the  money 
into  the  water,  they  would  jump  in  to  get  it, 
always  coming  up  with  the  coin  in  their  hand. 
But  I  shall  never  forget  the  feeling  that  came 
over  me  as  I  got  the  first  sight  of  these  people, 
who  in  some  respects  suggested  heathendom. 

We  sailed  to  the  coast  of  Africa,  and  cast 
anchor  at  Monrovia,  about  three  miles  out  at 
sea.  It  is  not  safe  to  take  the  steamer  near 
the  beach,  and  there  is  no  wharf ;  consequent- 
ly, passengers  and  freight  must  go  ashore  in 
surfboats.    When  we  approached  the  shore  in 


20       A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


these  boats  wc  had  to  anchor  several  yards 
out  in  tlie  water,  and  a  boat  load  of  natives 
came  alongside  to  take  us  to  the  beach.  We 
stood  up  on  the  side  of  the  boat,  and  they  took 
us  in  their  arms  like  babies,  and  set  us  down 
on  the  sand,  making  trips  until  all  were  landed. 

We  were  met  on  the  shore  by  one  of  the 
missionaries.  As  it  was  Sunday,  and  near  the 
hour  for  service,  we  were  all  taken  to  the 
chapel,  where  we  joined  in  worship  with  the 
crowd  of  natives  that  followed.  They  were 
very  much  pleased  to  see  so  many  white  people 
come  to  their  country,  and  the  little  children 
would  allow  us  to  carry  scarcely  anything  in 
our  hands,  they  were  so  anxious  to  do  some- 
thing for  us.  African  sights  and  sounds  were 
every  minute  becoming  more  familiar;  and 
from  that  day  I  felt  that  I  really  had  reached 
the  home  of  those  whom  I  had  come  to  help 
and  lead  to  the  Saviour.  From  the  chapel  we 
went  to  the  mission  house,  where  we  had  some 
"  lime-ade  " — made  like  lemonade,  from  a  na- 
tive fruit  which  is  something  like  our  lemon,  and 
takes  its  place  very  well. 

After  a  few  hours  on  shore,  which  were  a 
treat  to  us  after  the  rolling  of  the  ship  for  so 
long,  we  returned  on  board  again.  On  the 
twenty-first  of  January  we  reached  Cape  Pal- 
mas,  the  end  of  our  journey.    We  arrived  in 


The  Call  to  'iiie  VVokI):.  21 


time  to  liavc  gone  ashore  the  same  night,  had 
the  sea  not  been  so  rough.  Some  of  the  boats 
from  the  shore  tried  to  rcacli  us,  but  liad  to 
go  back,  as  tlie  sea  was  bad  and  the  night  dark. 
In  the  morning  all  was  calm.  We  were  called 
up  before  daylight,  had  a  cup  of  coffee,  and 
then  started  for  the  shore.  It  was  about  seven 
o'clock  when  we  landed. 

We  were  met  by  some  of  our  missionaries 
who  had  been  sent  out  the  year  before.  Every- 
thing was  strange  enough  to  my  eyes;  but  as 
Cape  Palmas  is  one  of  the  civilized  towns  of 
the  Liberians,  we  did  not  see  much  of  heathen- 
dom during  our  stay  there.  We  saw  the  hea- 
then as  they  came  in  to  trade ;  but  they  lived 
in  the  surrounding  country,  and  we  saw  little 
of  their  homes  and  manner  of  life.  The  sup- 
plies that  we  had  brought  with  us  to  commence 
our  work  with  had  not  come  on  the  same 
steamer  with  us,  and  we  were  obliged  to  wait 
for  them.  Then  Bishop  Taylor  was  expected, 
and  we  had  to  await  his  arrival  to  receive  our 
appointments.  Several  steamers  passed,  but 
he  did  not  come.  At  last  our  agent  started  out 
up  the  coast  to  Sinoe,  Avhere  the  bishop  was,  to 
bring  him  down.  After  several  days  they  re- 
turned together,  and  we  all  received  our  appoint- 
ments. Our  goods  came,  also,  and  at  the  end 
of  three  weeks  we  left  for  our  several  stations. 


22       A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

Sister  Binklcy  and  I  were  appointed  to  Gar- 
raway.  We  started  for  our  new  honae  on  the 
sixteenth  of  February,  1889,  Bishop  Taylor 
and  the  mission  carpenter  and  ourselves  sit- 
ting on  the  top  of  the  boxes  and  goods  while 
we  sailed  up  the  coast  twenty  miles  in  an  open 
surf  boat.  It  was  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening 
when  we  arrived.  As  we  were  carried  ashore 
in  the  strong  arms  of  the  natives,  a  crowd  of 
the  people  gathered  around  us,  delighted  to 
see  so  many  white  people,  and  to  know  that 
two  women  had  come  to  stay  among  them. 
The  station  owned  an  iron  building.  This  had 
been  opened  more  than  a  year  before  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Gortner,  his  wife  and  two  sons,  and  a  Mrs. 
Meeker,  who  had  come  out  as  a  teacher ;  but 
they  had  not  been  able  to  do  any  work  among 
the  people,  being  down  with  fever  most  of  the 
time. 

When  the  Gortners  came  the  natives  gave 
them  a  bullock  and  a  sheep,  for  meat,  in  order 
to  show  their  gratitude.  The  fever  was  less 
kind,  and  Brother  Gortner,  his  wife  and  eldest 
son,  and  Sister  Meeker  were  all  confined  to  bed 
at  the  same  time.  Only  the  youngest  son, 
about  nine  years  of  age,  and  an  old  Liberian 
woman  were  able  to  be  about  and  do  anything 
for  the  sick.  Mrs.  Meeker,  who  was  well  on  in 
years  and  not  very  strong,  was  the  first  to  die 


The  Call  to  the  Work. 


23 


irnm  the  fever.  It  was  in  the  afternoon  that 
she  left  tlie  work  to  be  with  her  Lord  ;  and  in 
the  evening  of  the  same  day  Mr.  Gortner  also 
went  to  be  with  Jesus,  "  which  is  far  better," 
leaving  his  wife  and  son  too  sick  to  help  them- 
selves or  attend  to  burying  their  dead. 

The  Liberian  woman  took  this  opportunity 
to  help  herself  to  everything  in  the  house  that 
suited  her  fancy  ;  and  the  two  dead  bodies  lay 
there  until  the  third  day  before  anything  was 
done  toward  burying  them.  Some  sailors, 
hearing  of  the  deaths  at  the  mission,  went  up 
and  made  two  coflfins  from  the  board  partitions 
of  the  house  and  buried  the  bodies.  Mrs. 
Gortner  was  too  sick  at  the  time  to  stand  on 
her  feet,  and  crept  on  her  hands  and  knees  to 
take  a  last  look  at  her  husband.  On  their  re- 
turn to  Cape  Palmas  these  Liberian  sailors  told 
what  they  had  done,  and  our  bishop  being 
there,  he  went  at  once  to  Garraway  and  did 
what  he  could  for  the  sick.  Mrs.  Gortner  and 
her  son  recovered  and  returned  to  America, 
and  the  station  was  left  in  the  care  of  an  old 
native  man  and  one  of  the  Liberian  women. 

Soon  after  we  reached  Cape  Palmas  word 
was  sent  to  Garraway  that  new  missionaries 
had  come,  and  that  some  person  would  soon 
be  sent  to  take  charge  of  the  station.  So  a 
chicken  was  caught  and  tied,  ready  to  be  cooked 


24 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


for  tlic  first  meal  when  the  missionary  should 
arrive.  When  we  reached  there  that  evening' 
in  February  they  killed  and  cooked  the  fowl, 
and  prepared  a  dinner  for  us.  We  were  all 
hungry,  for  we  had  been  several  hours  on  the 
water,  had  been  seasick,  and  were  quite  ready 
to  eat.  The  meal  consisted  of  chicken  soup,  a 
native  vegetable  called  cassada,  some  sea  bis- 
cuits, and  coffee.  The  soup  smelt  good,  but, 
when  we  tasted  it,  it  was  so  hot  with  the  na- 
tive red  pepper  that  it  brought  the  tears  to 
our  eyes,  and  we  could  not  eat  a  mouthful. 

A  great  crowd  of  the  natives  had  followed 
us  to  the  mission.  Everything  was  new  and 
strange  to  us,  the  mission  house  not  less  than 
the  people.  The  house  was  built  of  galvanized 
iron,  and  was  set  up  on  posts  six  feet  from  the 
ground.  As  I  entered  it,  I  thought  of  a  barn. 
The  rough  framework  was  all  visible  inside, 
for  there  was  no  ceiling.  The  partitions — what 
was  left  from  the  coffin  making — were  only 
hand-high,  and  the  whole  appearance  of  our  fu- 
ture home  was  desolate  enough.  The  crowd 
stayed  till  late ;  and  as  we  were  all  very  tired 
and  needed  sleep  we  told  them  that  they  had 
better  go  home.  So  they  departed,  and  we 
found  a  place  to  sleep  for  the  night.  The  mis- 
sionaries that  had  been  there  before  us  had 
fixed  up  some  beds,  and  we  spread  out  our 


The  Call  to  tiik  Work. 


27 


bhinkets  and  lay  down.  All  rested  well,  and 
in  the  morning  the  kings  and  chiefs  came  in  to 
see  us,  and  the  carpenter  put  some  chairs  to- 
gether that  had  been  brought  out  in  boxes,  all 
ready  to  be  fitted.  After  an  early  dinner  the 
bishop  left  for  the  Cape,  and  we  were  alone. 
It  was  Saturday,  and  Miss  Binkley  and  I  set 
things  in  order. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday.  Although  the 
people  tlid  not  know  the  difference  between 
that  tkiy  and  any  other,  many  of  them  came  to 
us  out  of  curiosity,  and  we  had  a  good  service. 
Our  first  service  was  with  the  children,  at  half 
past  nine  in  the  morning.  At  eleven  o'clock 
wc  had  another  service,  with  more  of  the  old 
people  present.  At  two  wc  had  another  meet- 
ing, and  still  another  at  six.  We  had  many  of 
the  same  persons  at  the  different  services,  as 
they  stayed  over  from  one  service  to  the  other. 
The  day  was  very  warm,  and  as  we  did  not  get 
any  rest  we  were  very  tired  at  night.  But  we 
had  told  many  people  of  Jesus,  and  retired  feel- 
ing that  the  day  had  been  well  spent,  and  that 
the  good  seed  had  been  planted  that  would 
yield  fruit  that  should  never  pass  away. 


28       A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


CHAPTER  II. 


FIRST  DAYS  IN  SCHOOL. 


A  School  among  the  Heathen. — Opening  Day. — A  Royal 
Beggar. — Teaching  the  Interpreter. — The  Children  of  the 
Mission. — Clothes. — Farm  work. — Native  Curiosity. — Left 
Alone. — "  Zion  Village." — The  War. 

ON  Monday  morning  we  promptly  opened 
our  school.  A  few  minutes  after  six  o'clock 


eager  boys  were  waiting  to  have  us  teach  them  ; 
at  half  past  eight  we  commenced  with  thirteen 
pupils  and  had  school  till  ten.  Five  men  sat 
and  listened  to  the  children  and  to  our  teach- 
ing. They  said,  "You  teach  book  proper," 
which  meant  that  they  were  satisfied  that  we 
knew  how  to  teach  their  children.  At  two  we 
had  forty-five  children  and  seven  women  pres- 
ent. Several  of  the  women  sewed  some  cloth 
very  well,  which  showed  us  that  they  could 
sew  if  they  cared  to  learn.  At  four  a  lot  of 
new  ones  came  in,  and  they  had  to  have  a  les- 
son too.  In  the  evening  the  old  king  brought 
all  the  old  letters  he  had  for  me  to  read  over 
to  him.  Some  of  them  were  five  years  old — 
letters  that  the  coast  traders  had  written  to  him. 
The  next  day  we  had  a  crowded  house. 


iMKST  Days  in  School. 


29 


After  teaching  the  children  until  I  was  tired  I 
told  them  they  could  go,  for  school  was  finished 
for  them.  But  three  of  the  larger  ones  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  the  rest  outside  and  then 
came  back,  saying,  "  We  did  not  have  plenty 
lesson ;  wc  want  to  read  more  book."  So  I 
gave  them  slates  and  pencils  and  some  letters 
to  make,  and  they  had  a  good  lesson  before 
they  went  away.  Miss  Binkley  had  a  class  of 
ten  young  men.  After  teaching  them  each  a 
lesson  separately,  she  told  them  to  go  home 
and  come  back  the  next  day;  but  in  the  after- 
noon they  were  all  back,  bringing  six  more 
with  them.  So  we  had  school  again  at  two 
o'clock  with  fifty-one  children  and  several 
women.  These  latter  repeated  their  letters 
and  printed  them  on  their  slates  like  the  chil- 
dren, but  wanted  me  to  pay  them  for  what  they 
did !  They  brought  their  babies  and  were 
much  pleased  when  we  took  them  in  our  arms. 

We  were  wondering  what  we  should  have  for 
breakfast  when  one  of  the  chiefs  sent  us  a  piece 
of  deer  meat,  which  was  very  acceptable  to  us. 
It  was  a  small  token  of  his  feeling  that  he 
ought  to  do  something  for  us  because  we  were 
strangers  who  had  come  to  do  his  people  good. 
Frequently  after  this  he  would  send  us  limes 
or  bananas. 

One  of  the  king's  sons  came  early  one  morn- 
3 


30       A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


ing  to  beg  us  to  give  him  some  potatoes.  I 
told  him  that  it  was  a  shame  for  him,  a  bi<? 
strong  man,  to  ask  us  women  to  give  him  pota- 
toes when  he  knew  we  were  strangers  and  did 
not  have  plenty  for  ourselves.  He  did  not 
understand  me  clearly;  so  I  said,  "  We  no  got 
plenty  chop  [victuals].  One  man  in  town  send 
me  chop  this  morning.  You  come  here,  you 
bring  so  so  hand,  no  nothing  live  inside.  You 
beg  me  for  give  you  something  for  eat.  What 
thing  you  live  for  do?  You  no  got  chop  to 
eat.  It  be  big  shame  for  you  to  beg."  He 
went  home,  and  in  an  hour  was  back  with  a 
bowl  of  breadfruit,  hot  from  the  fire,  and  was 
pleased  to  see  us  sit  down  and  eat  it. 

I  took  out  with  me  from  America  two 
child's  Bibles.  Although  none  of  the  natives 
could  read,  all  were  interested  in  looking  at 
the  pictures  and  listening  to  the  Bible  stories. 
Every  Sunday  these  books  had  to  be  gone 
over,  and  in  this  way  several  of  the  children 
learned  many  of  the  stories  before  they  could 
read  a  word.  All  our  readings  had  to  be  in- 
terpreted. As  nobody  in  the  tribe  understood 
anything  about  the  Bible  the  lessons  had  first 
to  be  taught  to  the  interpreter ;  otherwise  he 
would  not  have  understood  them,  and  the 
people  would  not  have  heard  the  truth.  We 
never  had  a  meeting  without  teaching  the 


First  Days  in  School.  31 

lesson  to  him  thoroughly  before  we  com- 
menced the  public  service. 

Many  of  our  meetings  were  more  like  school 
than  public  meetings,  for  we  found  it  neces- 
sary to  ask  questions  and  have  the  people 
answer  them  in  order  to  fasten  the  truth  in 
their  minds.  We  had  with  us  several  of  the 
bright-colored  picture  rolls  prepared  for  Sun- 
day schools  and  found  it  profitable  to  take  the 
pictures  for  the  subjects  of  our  lessons.  We 
pasted  a  number  of  them  on  the  wall  of  the 
house,  and  as  the  people  came  in  they  would 
often  look  at  them  and  explain  them  to  each 
other.  I  had  taken  a  number  of  photographs 
— for  we  had  brought  a  camera — and  was  wait- 
ing for  a  chance  to  print  some  more.  So  I 
took  a  day  for  the  work  and  printed  several 
dozen.  Some  were  good,  but  others  were  not, 
for  the  sea  air  had  somewhat  affected  the 
plates,  and  I  had  no  good  place  to  print  them. 

It  was  one  part  of  our  argument  with  the 
people  that  they  should  give  their  children  to 
the  mission  to  be  taught.  But  we  had  been 
at  the  station  several  weeks  before  we  had  any 
children  given  to  us.  All  who  had  so  far  at- 
tended had  come  only  for  the  day,  going  to 
their  homes  at  night.  But  one  day  when  we 
were  visiting  in  town  a  devil-doctor  called  us 
and  gave  us  his  little  boy,  of  seven  years,  say- 


32 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


ing,  "  Take  this  boy  and  teach  him  sense 
proper.  You  must  give  him  chop  and  find  a 
wife  for  him."  A  number  of  others  intended 
to  give  their  boys,  but  had  been  waiting  to  see 
who  would  be  the  first  to  send  his  son  to  be 
educated. 

We  took  the  devil-doctor's  boy  home  with 
us,  naked  as  he  was  given  to  us,  thinking  that, 
although  he  was  not  very  promising,  yet  he 
might  open  the  door  for  some  that  were.  The 
first  thing  we  did  was  to  dress  him.  We  made 
him  for  every  day  a  little  shirt  and  a  breech- 
cloth  such  as  the  native  men  wear,  and  for  Sun- 
day a  shirt  waist,  knee  breeches,  and  a  little 
white  cap,  all  out  of  factory  cotton.  On  Sunday 
we  dressed  him  in  his  white  suit  and  took  him 
with  us  to  town  to  service.  How  the  people 
crowded  round  to  see  the  little  boy  dressed 
like  the  white  men !  They  were  delighted. 
They  had  not  supposed  that  one  of  their  own 
children  could  look  so  well  with  clothes  on. 
Few  of  them  had  ever  seen  a  child  dressed, 
and  it  was  a  revelation  to  them. 

The  result  was  that  the  next  morning  we 
got  three  more  boys,  and  before  the  week  was 
out  we  had  nine.  By  Sunday  we  had  them 
all  dressed  and  took  them  to  town  in  their 
fresh  white  cottons.  The  people  were  more 
than  pleased.    Some  of  them  would  put  their 


First  Days  in  School.  35 

haiuls  on  tlic  sliouklcrs  of  the  boys,  call  them 
by  naiuc,  and  say,  "  Is  this  really  you?  Why, 
how  fine  yon  are  !  "  That  day  we  went  around 
to  four  towns  and  held  services  in  them  all, 
reaching  home  as  it  was  getting  dark.  Soon 
we  got  more  boys  ;  but  they  did  not  all  stay. 
Indeed,  for  some  time  we  never  took  "our" 
children  to  town  without  bringing  some  of 
them  home  crying.  They  wanted  to  stay 
with  their  mothers ;  and  their  mothers  often 
coaxed  them  away,  wishing  them  to  learn  to 
catch  fish  so  that  they  might  have  fish  soup  to 
drink.  Some  of  the  boys  gave  us  trouble  by 
running  away;  but  after  a  while  those  that 
were  not  satisfied  stayed  away,  and  those  that 
wanted  to  learn  settled  down  to  study,  and  we 
began  to  get  things  in  order. 

We  took  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  for 
work  on  the  farm,  had  breakfast  at  ten  o'clock, 
and  school  at  eleven.  After  school  the 
children  had  a  lunch,  generally  of  bananas  or 
sugar  cane,  and  then  all  were  ready  for  work 
on  the  farm  again.  We  had  no  farmer  to  take 
charge  of  the  work,  since  we  were  living  on  as 
little  money  as  possible;  so  I  undertook  to 
oversee  the  farm.  It  was  my  duty  to  go  out 
as  soon  as  the  dew  was  off  the  grass  and  direct 
the  boys.  I  took  my  sewing  along  and  a 
chair  and  sat   and  sewed,  while   they  cut 


3^ 


A  LoNK  Woman  ix  Africa. 


tlic  low  bush,  or  liillcd  jiotatocs,  or  planted 
other  vegetables.  We  cleared  ground  and 
planted  five  hundred  coffee  trees.  We  found 
it  very  difficult  raising  coffee,  fin-  the  natives 
did  not  raise  it,  and  few  of  them  knew  a  coffee 
tree  from  a  weed. 

We  tried  to  impress  upon  the  people  that 
they  ouglit  to  wear  clothes.  As  they  knew 
little  about  sewing  it  fell  to  our  lot  to  do  a 
good  deal  of  tailoring  for  them.  They  would 
bring  us  the  cloth,  and  then  work  on  the  farm 
to  pay  for  the  making.  This  and  our  own 
sewing  made  our  work  very  heavy,  for  we  had 
little  help  and  every  duty  required  our  atten- 
tion. 

In  all  our  teaching  we  made  it  a  special 
point  to  impress  on  the  people  the  need  of  a 
Saviour  and  their  dependence  upon  God. 
Some  were  very  ready  to  receive  the  truth, 
and  it  made  a  great  impression  on  them. 
One  evening  one  of  the  young  men  came  in  in 
a  great  hurry  on  his  way  home  from  the  farm 
to  see  me  a  few  minutes.  "  Teacher,"  said  he, 
"  I  dream  all  that  you  tell  me  about  God  last 
night.  This  morning  I  get  up.  I  so  well  and 
happy."  After  I  had  played  on  the  organ  and 
sung  to  him  for  a  while  he  exclaimed,  "  Now 
pray ;  I  want  to  go  home,"  and  we  all  knelt  in 
prayer. 


I'^iKST  Days  in  Sc;i[()»)L. 


37 


Sometimes  we  had  so  many  callers  that  it 
seemed  as  if  all  the  peoi)le  had  taken  a  holiday 
anil  come  to  visit  the  mission.  1  liad  taken 
photoL;raplis  of  the  native  towns  and  a  number 
of  the  people,  and  these  pictures  were  a 
wonder  to  them.  They  were  amazed  to  sec 
themselves  on  paper,  and  used  to  say,  "  White 
man  knows  everything  for  true.  He  be  all 
same  as  God.     lie  fit  to  make  man  live." 

The  women  who  came  to  visit  us  were  very 
curious.  It  was  always  a  mystery  to  them 
wliat  made  the  needle  in  our  sewing  machine 
go  up  and  down  without  our  touching  it ;  and 
I  often  patched  their  towels  or  sewed  a  few 
stitches  for  them  so  that  they  might  show  their 
people  in  the  interior  wluit  they  had  seen. 

They  were  much  amused  with  the  organ, 
and  often  asked  us  to  "  make  that  box  talk." 
While  we  were  playing  they  would  examine  it 
all  over  to  see  where  the  sound  was  coming 
from.  They  never  got  tired  of  the  organ,  for 
they  were  very  fond  of  music. 

We  had  taken  out  a  small  cook  stove,  which 
was  another  source  of  wonderment.  One  would 
tell  another  about  it,  and  they  came  for  miles 
to  see  it.  We  had  to  open  the  door  to  let 
them  see  where  the  wood  was  put  in,  how  tlie 
smoke  went  up  the  chimney,  the  holes  where 
the  pots  were  put  on,  and  the  oven  where  the 


38        A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


bread  was  baked.  They  seemed  to  have  an 
idea — until  they  learned  better — that  bread 
was  all  that  white  people  ate. 

Our  bedroom  we  did  not  allow  them  to  enter, 
and  they  thought  that  there  must  be  some- 
thing wonderful  hidden  away  there  that  we 
did  not  want  them  to  see.  The  king  often 
asked  why  we  would  not  allow  them  to  go  into 
that  room.  We  must,  he  said,  have  some  rea- 
son for  it.  We  told  him  it  was  not  the  custom 
in  our  country.  But  he  was  never  satisfied, 
and  thought  there  was  some  secret  reason  for 
keeping  the  door  always  shut.  So  to  satisfy 
him  one  day  when  he  and  a  number  of  the 
other  chiefs  had  come  to  see  us,  we  took  them 
in  to  examine  the  room.  They  were  much 
pleased  to  be  allowed  to  see  for  themselves, 
but,  not  finding  anything  of  interest  to  them, 
they  were  a  little  disappointed  that  their  hopes 
had  not  been  realized. 

But  the  women,  who  had  never  been  away 
from  home  and  had  not  seen  as  much  as  the 
men,  were  perfectly  delighted  with  everything, 
and  Avould  clap  their  hands  and  snap  their 
fingers,  and  use  all  kinds  of  expressions  of  sur- 
prise and  joy.  They  had  never  dreamed  that 
there  were  such  wonderful  things  in  the  world 
as  they  saw  in  our  house. 

The  people  are  much  pleased  to  have  white 


First  Days  in  School. 


39 


people  live  among  them.  i'hey  consider  it  a 
benefit  to  their  country.  Jkit  some  of  them 
do  not  want  to  have  this  benefit  mixed  with 
too  much  religion.  Our  king — Davis  is  his 
Enelisli  name — had  been  to  England  and  knew 
that  white  people  have  much  more  of  this 
world's  goods  than  his  people  had,  and  he 
spoke  English  fairly  well ;  but  he  never  wanted 
to  be  talked  with  personally  about  salvation. 
We  had  never  been  able  to  induce  him  to  stay 
for  service.  He  always  made  some  excuse. 
But  one  Sunday  when  he  came  up  to  see  us 
Miss  Binkley  was  ill  and  unable  to  be  out  of 
her  room  at  service.  When  we  knelt  down  to 
pray  the  king  looked  about  for  a  pkice  to  get 
out  of  earshot,  and  went  into  the  room  where 
Miss  Binkley  was.  But  she,  too,  had  knelt  in 
prayer,  and  the  king  found  her  on  her  knees. 
He  nudged  her  and  told  her  to  get  up,  but  she 
paid  no  attention  to  him,  and  he  had  to  wait 
and  listen  to  our  prayers  for  him. 

After  a  few  months  Miss  Binkley  married 
one  of  our  missionaries  and  went  to  live  on 
the  Cavalla  River.  I  was  left  alone  at  Gar- 
raway.  No  heart  which  has  not  gone  through 
the  experience  can  imagine  the  feeling  that 
comes  over  a  Christian  woman  left  alone  among 
the  heathen.  God  wonderfully  sustains  and 
comforts,  and  he  upheld  me  ;  but  I  was  human, 


40 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa, 


and  at  times  a  realization  of  the  great  distance 
between  nic  and  any  s)'nipathizing  heart  and 
of  the  responsibility  of  the  work  would  come 
over  me  with  such  force  and  weight  that  the 
only  place  where  I  could  find  relief  would  be 
at  Jesus's  feet.  Many  times  as  it  grew  dark  I 
would  go  down  the  hillside  to  some  quiet  spot 
and  there  tell  Jesus  all  the  burden  of  my  heart, 
have  a  good  cry,  and  come  back  to  take  up  the 
duties  of  mother  and  teacher  to  the  children, 
of  preacher  and  missionary  to  the  people,  of 
doctor  to  the  sick,  of  superintendent  of  the 
work  in  general — besides  teaching  the  children 
all  that  they  learned  out  of  school,  as  well  as 
:n  school. 

I  think  now  of  the  days  that  are  gone  and 
the  experiences  that  I  passed  through,  when  it 
seemed  as  if  my  frame  could  not  endure  another 
burden  ;  and  I  realize  how  wonderfully  my 
Saviour  shared  the  burdens  which  I  alone  could 
not  have  borne.  When  I  realize  this  I  can 
but  shed  tears  of  joy  and  exclaim,  "  All  praise 
to  our  victorious  Lord  ;  his  grace  is  sufificient." 
If  I  should  never  return  to  that  dark  land  I 
would  never  cease  to  praise  him  for  the  grace 
with  which  he  strengthened  me  in  many  a 
weary  and  lonely  hour. 

Our  progress  in  teaching  the  children  was 
necessarily  slow.    They  could  learn  but  little 


First  Days  in  School. 


41 


from  their  books  until  they  could  speak  some 
English.  Sometimes,  to  induce  them  to  do 
their  best,  we  offered  prizes.  We  would  review 
the  English  lessons  they  had  had,  and  to  the 
child  who  knew  them  best  we  gave  a  teaspoon- 
ful  of  sugar,  a  piece  of  bread,  a  card,  or  an  extra 
hour  for  play.  We  did  not  have  the  trouble 
afterward  that  we  had  at  first,  for  the  older 
scholars  helped  us  by  teaching  the  younger  ones. 

Several  of  the  young  men  in  neighboring 
towns  were  anxious  to  learn  ;  but  they  had 
other  work  to  do,  and  the  mission  was  too  far 
away  to  allow  them  to  come  to  school.  So 
they  moved  away  with  their  wives  from  the 
heathen  influences  in  their  old  villages  and  built 
a  new  town  near  the  mission,  to  which  we  gave 
the  name  of  "  Zion,"  meaning  "the  city  of 
God."  When  our  tribe  settled  on  the  coast 
they  founded  but  one  town,  which  they  called 
Maquanka,  meaning  "  we  all  sit  down  together." 

Some  time  after  this  a  part  of  them  desired 
to  move  out  and  make  a  new  town.  The  rest 
objected  ;  but  the  discontented  ones  persisted, 
and  built  a  village  called  Bailie,  which  in  their 
language  means  "we  beg  you."  After  a  while 
still  another  part  of  the  old  settlement  became 
dissatisfied  and  though  the  people  in  the  old 
town  defied  them  to  build  a  new  town,  they 
did  so,  and  called  it  Hesseka,  which  is  "  we 


42 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


dare  you."  So  it  was  quite  in  keeping  with 
their  customs  for  us  to  call  our  town  Zion. 

The  men  of  Zion  were  very  anxious  to  learn  ; 
but  they  had  their  families  to  care  for,  and 
could  not  be  regular  at  school.  They  would 
come,  however,  whenever  they  had  a  little 
spare  time.  We  always  made  it  a  point  to  pay 
special  attention  to  them.  They  learned  some 
things  of  great  service  to  them  and  were  very 
proud  to  be  able  to  read  and  write  and  do 
some  arithmetic.  The  women  of  Zion  had 
not  the  same  desire  to  learn.  They  knew  no 
English,  and  it  was  much  harder  for  them  to 
learn,  and  they  soon  stopped  trying. 

We  found  it  difficult  to  get  the  women  to 
wear  clothes.  They  liked  to  dress  up  for  show ; 
but  did  not  see  why  they  should  be  dressed  all 
the  time.  Those  who  wore  no  clothing  laughed 
at  them,  and  told  them  they  were  spoiling  their 
skins  and  would  soon  become  spotted  like 
leopards.  Many  of  the  natives  are  prouder 
of  their  black  skin  than  of  any  clothes  you  can 
give  them.  Indeed,  as  long  as  they  have  a 
good  supply  of  jewelry  to  wear,  they  do  not 
mind  their  nakedness.  They  say,  "  Them  close 
he  no  be  we-fashion." 

When  our  work  opened  in  Garraway  the 
prospects  for  a  successful  school  seemed  very 
good,  since  one  thing  necessary  to  success  is 


First  Days  in  School. 


43 


that  all  parties  concerned  in  an  undertaking 
should  be  intensely  interested  in  it.  Our  people 
in  Garraway,  both  young  and  old,  were  much 
interested  in  the  mission,  and  for  the  first  six 
months  we  were  more  than  busy  with  teach- 
ing, both  during  and  after  school  hours.  But 
when  we  went  to  Garraway  the  people  were 
talking  of  war  with  a  neighboring  tribe.  After 
we  had  been  there  a  few  months  they  began  to 
keep  guard  night  and  day,  and  in  November, 
1889,  they  fought  the  first  battle.  Many  of 
the  children's  relatives  were  killed  and  others 
wounded  in  the  fight,  and  for  two  reasons  our 
school  had  to  be  closed :  first,  the  children 
were  called  home  by  their  parents,  who  did 
not  consider  it  safe  to  leave  them  with  me, 
since  the  mission  was  so  near  the  enemy;  and, 
secondly,  our  people  sent  for  me  to  come  and 
care  for  their  wounded,  and  I  was  obliged  to 
spend  much  of  my  time  in  town.  Both  old 
and  young  were  so  excited  over  the  war  that 
scarcely  a  person  could  think  of  books.  Night 
and  day  the  enemy  was  expected. 

After  the  first  two  battles  two  of  our  young 
men,  who  were  anxious  to  learn  and  knew  that 
the  war  would  not  be  easily  or  quickly  settled, 
came  for  a  lesson  whenever  they  were  not  on 
guard  or  had  no  other  work  to  do.  Many  an 
hour  I  spent  with  these  two  pupils,  carefully 


44 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


explaining  to  them  every  word,  teaching  them 
Bible  stories  and  the  truths  of  God,  telling 
them  of  Jesus  and  the  better  way,  and  talking 
to  them  of  the  wonderful  ways  in  which  God 
had  delivered  his  people  that  trusted  in  him  in 
the  past.  These  were  the  only  two  young  men 
in  our  tribe  who  did  not  go  to  the  devil-doctor 
to  obtain  charms  and  "  medicine  "  to  protect 
them  from  the  bullets.  Both  are  living  to-day 
and  belong  to  our  church.  One  of  them  is  the 
interpreter  of  our  mission. 

Always  when  I  went  to  town  I  carried  a  book 
with  me,  and  whenever  I  met  our  boys  and 
young  men  I  would  give  them  a  short  lesson 
or  review  the  old  ones,  that  they  might  not 
forget  what  they  had  learned.  Often  I  spent 
hours  teaching  these  individual  lessons  both 
from  our  schoolbooks  and  from  the  Bible,  in- 
stilling into  the  minds  of  the  young  that  there 
was  a  better  way  for  them  than  the  one  their 
fathers  had  followed  for  so  many  generations, 
and  assuring  them  that  if  they  would  accept 
Jesus  as  their  Master  and  God's  law  as  their 
guide  they  would  have  no  more  war.  God's 
law,  I  told  them,  was  that  we  should  love  one 
another. 

As  I  look  back  now  to  those  days  I  will  re- 
member what  a  trial  for  me  it  used  to  be  to  go 
into  the  towns  alone  among  a  lot  of  rough, 


First  Davs  in  School. 


45 


rude,  heathen  soldiers,  many  of  them  half 
drunk,  and  speaking  a  langua<je  that  I  could 
not  understand,  llovv  their  shrieks  and  yells 
used  to  make  the  cold  chills  run  over  me  !  Yet 
I  knew  I  was  safe,  for  God  was  with  me  and 
had  sent  me  to  teach  them  a  better  way.  I 
felt  that  the  only  way  to  accomplish  the  work 
I  had  come  to  do  was  to  heed  our  Saviour's 
command,  "  (jo  out  into  the  highways  and 
hedges,  and  compel  them  to  come  in,"  resting 
on  the  promise,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway." 
I  never  sh.dl  cease  to  praise  God  for  liis  mani- 
fest presence  with  me.  Many  times  I  realized 
the  fulfillment  of  the  promise,  when  everything 
human  and  temporal  made  me  realize  that  I 
was  in  a  strange  land  and  among  a  strange 
people,  yet  I  never  felt  alone. 

After  peace  returned  we  took  our  children 
back  to  school  and  encouraged  all  the  young 
men  to  study,  liut  many  of  our  most  interest- 
ing pupils  were  no  longer  there.  They  had 
fallen  in  the  war — our  interpreter  among  the 
rest.  Moreover,  many  of  the  young  men  were 
sad  and  never  took  up  their  books  again.  The 
adults  were  weak  from  the  scanty  food  they 
had  eaten  during  the  troubled  time.  Few  had 
the  ambition  to  follow  out  a  new  idea,  finding 
it  was  all  that  they  could  do  to  get  their  farm- 
work  started  again.  However,  the  children 
4 


46        A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


we  had  adopted — or,  I  ought  to  say,  the  boys, 
for  at  this  time  we  had  no  girls — were  under 
our  immediate  control  and  we  had  them  regu- 
larly in  school.  They  did  very  well  under  the 
circumstances,  and  many  a  weary,  yet  happy 
and  encouraging,  day  I  have  spent  with  my 
Garraway  boys. 


The  War. 


47 


CHAPTHK  111. 

Till-:  WAR. 

A  War  Cloud.— The  Slrugglo  for  the  Coast.— An  Old  Sore. 
— Two  Causes  of  Contention,  'I'crritory  and  Women. — 
Closing  the  Thoroughfare. — The  Sword  Fight. — Amateur 
Surgery. —  The  Rout  of  the  Nemia  People. — Gunshot 
Wounds.  —  Bob  Charcoal's  Death. 

WI I  EN  \vc  first  came  to  Garrawa)'  \vc  were 
inipre.s.scd  with  the  disturbed  and  rest- 
lcs.s  condition  of  the  people.  When  wc  landed 
on  the  beach  that  first  night,  we  could  see  by  the 
light  of  the  rnoon  that  the  men  carried  guns,  and 
we  at  once  thought  of  war.  When  we  went  up 
to  the  mission  house  a  number  of  these  warriors 
— every  able-bodied  Garraway  man  is  a  soldier 
— went  along  carrying  their  guns  on  their  bare, 
black  shoulders.  The  coast  people  are  some- 
what in  advance  of  those  in  the  interior,  and 
for  years  they  have  fought  with  guns,  instead 
of  bows  and  arrows.  Liberia  extends  only  fifty 
miles  back  from  the  coast,  and  all  the  tribes 
have  had  sufficient  contact  with  civilization  to 
appreciate  the  superiority  of  firearms. 

The  first  morning  in  our  new  home,  all  ages 
and  si7xs  of  the  peoj^le  came  to  see  us.  The 


48        A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa, 

men  still  had  their  firearms,  and  as  we  did  not 
like  so  many  guns  in  the  house,  they  left  them 
outside,  leaning  against  the  posts  of  the  house. 
Indeed,  our  house,  standing  six  feet  from  the 
ground,  often  looked  more  like  a  soldiers'  drill 
shed  than  a  Methodist  mission  house. 

In  response  to  our  inquiries  we  learned  that 
the  Peddie  people,  a  tribe  which  once  lived  on 
the  coast,  but  which  our  people  had  driven 
into  the  bush,  were  making  the  disturbance  by 
threatening  to  return  to  their  old  haunts.  The 
Garraway  people  had  offered  them  a  site  for  a 
town,  but  they  were  not  willing  to  accept  it  as 
a  Hivor.  Another  neighboring  tribe,  the  Nemia 
people,  had  induced  the  Teddies  to  unite  in  a 
war  against  the  Garraway  people,  hoping  thus 
to  be  able  to  drive  them  from  the  coast  and 
come  into  possession  of  their  territory. 

Another  reason  why  the  Peddie  people  had 
declined  the  location  offered  them  by  the  Garra- 
way people  was  because  it  lay  between  the  two 
largest  Garraway  towns,  and  they  wanted  a 
settlement  entirely  to  themselves.  This  the 
Garraways  were  not  willing  to  allow,  knowing 
the  Peddies  to  be  a  most  treacherous  people, 
and  were  willing  to  let  them  come  to  the  coast 
only  on  condition  that  they  live  among  the 
Garraways  as  friends,  and  not  settle  down  by 
themselves.    To  allow  them  to  do  this  would 


TuK  War. 


49 


only  give  tlicin  ;m  opportunity  to  make 
trouble. 

The  Peddie  people  had  never  forgiven  the 
Garraways  for  concpiering  them,  and  the  Neniia 
people  had  a  grievanee  because  some  of  their 
women  had  run  away  and  were  living  with  our 
tribe.  Fearing  lest  they  might  not  be  able  to 
succeed,  the  allies  invited  some  of  their  neigh- 
bors to  help  them  ;  and  the  Genoer,  Nyambo, 
and  1^'ishtown  tribes,  making  five  in  all,  joined 
in  the  war. 

Our  people  often  told  me  the  story  of  their 
wars,  and  how  they  themselves  were  once  driven 
from  the  beach  by  the  Libcrian  people.  After 
living  eight  years  in  the  bush — I  have  often 
passed  the  place  where  their  town  used  to  be, 
on  my  way  up  into  the  interior — -they  paid  a 
a  heavy  fine  to  the  government  and  returned 
to  the  beach.  They  had  a  few  years  of  peace, 
and  then  began  the  contention  that  has  never 
ceased.  It  will  be  necessary  to  give  its  history 
to  enable  the  reader  to  understand  the  events 
which  followed. 

In  former  years  the  Nemia,  Garraway,  and 
Peddie  people  lived  in  peace  along  the  coast, 
the  Garraway  people  being  between  the  other 
two  tribes.  Early  one  morning  an  outside 
enemy  attacked  the  Nemia  town,  and  our  peo- 
ple, according  to  promise,  rushed  out  to  help 


50       A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


tlicir  neighbors.  Our  king,  who  was  a  far- 
sccing  man,  warned  his  subjects  to  be  ready  to 
defend  tlieniselves.  But  in  their  haste  and  ex- 
citement they  forgot  the  warning. 

But  no  sooner  had  they  started  than  their 
neighbors  and  supposed  friends,  the  Peddie 
people,  stole  into  the  defenseless  village  and  set 
it  on  fire,  hoping  in  this  way  to  drive  the  Gar- 
raways  back  to  their  old  homes  in  the  bush. 
Fortunately,  however,  the  smoke  was  early 
discovered,  and  our  people  rushed  back  in  time 
to  put  out  the  fire  and  save  their  homes  from 
destruction.  They  pursued  the  Peddles  back 
to  their  own  town.  But  the  Peddies  fled  to 
the  bush  rather  than  risk  a  battle  ;  and  there 
they  built  new  homes  and  continued  to  live> 
nursing  their  hatred  against  the  tribe  which 
had  deprived  them  of  their  coastland,  and  ready 
for  any  enterprise  which  should  restore  them  to 
their  own. 

There  are  two  main  causes  of  the  almost  un- 
ceasing warfare  which  is  the  history  of  the  Li- 
bcrian  tribes.  One  is  the  desire  for  more  ter- 
ritory ;  for  the  land  is  not  definitely  allotted, 
and  between  the  tribes  lie  tracts,  usually 
heavily  timbered,  which  furnish  building  mate- 
rials, lumber,  thatch,  and  "  tie-tie  " — the  rope 
which  takes  the  place  of  nails.  This  common 
ground  is  a  bone  of  perpetual  contention.  The 


The  War, 


51 


other  source  of  discord  is  "  the  woman  cjues- 
lion."  Tlie  native  men  buy  tlieir  women,  and 
have  as  many  wives  as  they  can  pay  for  ;  the 
more  wives  a  man  has  the  Jiiore  respected  he 
is.  M.uiy  of  these  women  take  no  interest  in 
their  famiUes,  and  after  a  trifling  dispute  with 
their  husbantls  will  run  away  to  other  tribes  to 
become  the  wives  of  other  men.  To  lose  a 
wife  is  to  lose  an  investment;  and  the  first 
husband  accuses  the  new  one  of  dishonesty,  un- 
less he  returns  her  value  in  money.  This  a 
member  of  a  hostile  tribe  will  not  do.  So  the 
quarrel  gets  hotter  and  hotter,  until  the  two 
tribes  are  in  open  war.  In  the  present  case 
our  people  told  us  that  they  wanted  no  war, 
and  should  not  be  the  first  to  begin  hostilities, 
but  if  they  were  fired  on  they  would  protect 
their  homes  and  lives. 

Some  time  previously  the  Garraway  and 
Nemia  people,  who  were  originally  one  tribe, 
met  together  and  offered  sacrifice  to  their 
gods.  Then  they  buried  a  gun,  and  every  war- 
rior turned  his  gun  downward  ;  and  they  de- 
clared before  their  gods  that  they  were  brothers 
and  would  never  fight  each  other  again.  This 
treaty  was  faithfully  kept  for  a  number  of  years. 
But  when  we  arrived  in  the  beginning  of  i88g 
the  Nemia  people  had  threatened  to  attack  the 
Garraways  unless  they  granted  the  Peddies  a 


52        A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

place  on  ihc  beach  by  themselves.  Our  people 
were  in  readiness,  for  they  had  suspected 
treachery.  The  road  taken  by  the  two  allied 
tribes  in  visitintj  each  other  was  through  Gar- 
raway  territory,  and  the  Garraways  now  forbade 
their  further  use  of  it.  After  that  no  man's 
life  was  safe  on  this  road  ;  but  for  a  while  the 
women  w^ere  allowed  to  go  back  and  forth  un- 
molested. Soon,  however,  even  they  were  for- 
bidden to  pass. 

Our  young  men,  when  they  came  to  the 
mission  for  their  lessons,  were  always  on  the 
watch  for  these  women.  The  mission  bein"; 
situated  on  a  hilltop,  was  a  good  lookout  for 
them,  and  many  a  lesson  was  cut  short  as  they 
sighted  women  passing  along  that  road.  In  an 
instant  they  would  drop  book  or  slate,  and 
without  a  word  of  explanation  rush  out  of  the 
house  and  away  down  the  hillside  as  fast  as 
they  could  go.  Most  of  them  seemed  pleased 
whenever  they  found  that  the  women  were  not 
of  a  hostile  tribe;  but  some  seemed  not  at  all 
pleased,  for  they  would  have  preferred  to  show 
their  patriotism  by  sending  the  women  back 
empty-handed.  I  have  seen  our  men  stop  a 
company  of  these  women  who  were  carrying 
loads  of  vegetables  and  other  articles  of  food 
on  their  heads,  take  away  everything  they  had, 
and  send  them  back  with  threats  that  if  they 


Till':  War, 


53 


ever  p;issetl  that  way  a^ain  it  would  go  worse 
with  tliem.  1  he  G.irraways  would  never  eat 
the  things  they  had  taken,  for  fear  of  poison, 
but  would  dig  a  hole  and  bury  them  just  as 
they  were.  After  the  road  was  closed  to  them 
the  women  used  to  pass  during  the  night,  but 
with  great  caution  and  fear,  lest  they  should  be 
caught  and  imprisoned  or  tortured. 

]k)th  our  people  and  the  enemy  were  con- 
stantly defying  each  other,  and  scarcely  a 
week  passed  without  several  warlike  messages 
being  exchanged  between  them.  It  was  no 
longer  safe  for  the  women  to  go  to  the  bush 
alone  after  wood,  or  to  the  vegetable  farm  for 
food.  The  people  on  the  beach  do  not  culti- 
vate rice  farms  in  time  of  war,  since  to  do  so 
they  would  be  compelled  to  go  to  a  distance 
and  leave  their  homes  unprotected.  Conse- 
quently, war  always  brings  famine.  Our  peo- 
ple suffered  much  from  this  cause,  not  having 
enough  to  eat.  Day  and  night  they  kept  on 
guard.  The  women  did  all  the  planting  that 
was  done,  but  while  so  engaged  were  kept  in 
constant  terror,  not  knowing  at  what  time  they 
might  meet  the  ambushed  enemy. 

For  several  weeks  before  a  battle  was  fought 
the  guards  used  to  walk  until  morning  through 
the  long  grass  and  the  bushes  between  the 
mission  and  their  towns,  blowing  their  war 


54        A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


horns  and  ringing  their  war  bells,  that  the 
enemy  might  know  they  were  not  asleep. 
They  erected  barricades  at  places  where  they 
feared  the  enemy  might  attempt  to  pass. 
These  bullet-proof  barricades  were  made  of  the 
stalks  of  banana  trees,  which  are  from  eight  to 
twelve  inches  thick,  ami  were  built  like  a  hol- 
low wall  and  were  filled  with  sand,  leaving 
small  loopholes  through  which  to  fire  at  the 
enemy. 

A  war  fence  was  built  round  each  of  our  towns 
— not  a  very  strong  fence,  for  they  had  no  heavy 
timber  at  hand  and  could  not  venture  out  to 
the  big  bush  for  heavy  sticks.  I  have  since 
seen  very  strong  war  fences  in  the  interior 
where  timber  was  plenty.  The  timber  was 
cut  from  five  to  eight  inches  thick  and  about 
fourteen  feet  long,  a  trench  was  dug,  and  the 
timbers  set  endwise  into  the  ground  close 
together  and  bound  with  strong  rope.  I  have 
seen  war  fences  of  this  sort,  whose  gates  were 
always  shut  at  night,  that  it  would  have  been 
hard  work  to  break  down  without  artillery.  I 
often  heard  the  enemy  come  out  of  their  towns 
to  where  our  people  could  hear  them,  and  then, 
with  their  war  horns,  curse  and  taunt  them  and 
call  them  every  insulting  name  they  could 
think  of. 

One  morning  about  ten  o'clock  they  called 


TiiK  War. 


55 


our  [)coi)lc  out  to  fii;lil,  aiul  our  i)Coi)lc,  to  show 
they  were  not  cowards,  went  out,  with  gun  and 
sword,  to  meet  them.  After  many  liard  words 
they  began  to  cut  at  one  another  with  tlieir 
swords;  and  after  two  hours  of  blows  of  this 
kind  they  both  returned  to  their  towns. 

Our  people  sent  a  man  to  summon  me  to 
dress  their  wounds.  I  took  bandages,  sticking 
plaster,  some  arnica,  a  needle  and  thread,  and 
a  pair  of  scissors.  Asking  God  to  give  me  all 
the  grace  and  strength  I  should  need  for  the 
duty,  I  went  to  town,  and  found  first  one  of 
our  head  warriors  with  his  head  wrapped  in  a 
cloth  red  with  blood.  It  was,  indeed,  a  trial  to 
me,  as  I  had  always  shrunk  from  anythingof  the 
sort;  but  the  people  stood  all  around,  no  one 
seeming  to  know  what  to  do.  I  leaned  hard 
on  Jesus,  and  he  sustained  me.  I  took  off  the 
cloth  and  found  three  great  sword  gashes  on 
the  top  of  the  wounded  man's  head.  The 
next  thing  was  to  get  a  razor  and  shave  the 
hair  off  his  head.  They  brought  me  an  old, 
dull  one.  I  went  to  work  and  shaved  or 
scraped  off  the  hair  the  best  I  could,  until  I 
could  get  the  sticking  plaster  to  hold  the  cuts 
together.  Then  I  applied  some  medicine,  ban- 
daged the  head,  persuaded  the  man  to  lie  down 
and  be  quiet,  and  went  on  to  the  next  patient. 

A  young  man  had  sat  down  beside  me  when 


$6        A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


I  began  on  the  first  case.  But  he  was  bleeding 
badly,  and  soon  got  too  weak  to  sit  up  any 
longer,  so  they  took  him  to  his  father's  house, 
where  I  found  him.  I  took  off  the  bandag-es 
and  found  a  great  gash  in  his  cheek,  and  an- 
other over  the  shoulder  blade.  He  had  been 
passing  a  tree,  when,  looking  back,  he  saw  close 
behind  him  one  of  the  enemy  with  his  sword 
upraised;  and  before  he  could  get  away  the 
man,  with  one  stroke  of  his  sword,  had  cut  a 
great  gash  down  through  his  cheek  and  shoul- 
der. The  point  of  the  sword  had  made  a  cut 
in  his  face  three  inches  long  and  almost  through 
to  the  teeth.  After  cleansing  this  thoroughly, 
since  there  is  always  danger  that  the  blades 
may  have  been  poisoned,  I  drew  the  wound 
carefully  together  with  needle  and  thread,  ap- 
plied remedies,  and  bandaged  it  up.  Then  I 
dressed  the  gash  on  his  shoulder,  and  went  on 
to  the  next  sufferer. 

For  weeks  I  did  not  for  a  day  miss  being  in 
the  town,  and  I  spent  more  time  caring  for  the 
wounded  than  in  school.  Those  that  could 
came  to  the  mission  when  I  could  not  stay  in 
town  long  enough  to  attend  to  them  all.  I 
had  no  one  to  leave  with  the  children,  and 
could  not  always  take  them  with  me. 

On  the  fifth  of  November,  about  two  weeks 
after  this  first  battle,  I  was  awakened  very  early 


The  War. 


57 


by  loud  talking.  Our  people  had  started  out 
to  surprise  the  Nemia  town,  but,  finding  they 
were  not  going  to  reach  the  place  before  day- 
light, had  come  back  and  were  arguing  together 
down  at  the  foot  of  our  hill.  Finally  they  went 
home.  But  about  noon  the  Nemia  and  Peddie 
warriors  came  out  together  and  challenged 
our  people  to  a  battle  with  swords.  Our  peo- 
ple went  out  to  meet  them,  still  saying  that 
they  would  not  be  the  first  to  fire  a  gun,  though 
every  man  carried  one. 

I  heard  the  first  sound  of  the  war  horn  ;  and, 
going  to  the  door  where  I  could  observe  plainly 
all  that  was  passing,  I  saw  the  Nemia  people 
not  far  from  our  town.  The  Garraways  gath- 
ered from  all  their  towns.  I  saw  them  march- 
ing out  to  meet  the  enemy.  I  could  sec  their 
swords  glittering  in  the  sun,  and  hear  their 
shouts  and  the  sound  of  the  war  horn  and 
bells.  ■ 

The  enemy,  scattered  in  a  long  line,  with 
gun  in  hand,  waited  till  our  people  came 
close  enough  to  take  good  aim  at  our  principal 
men.  Then  they  fired.  The  first  volley  killed 
one  of  our  best  men,  and  his  son,  who  was  just 
behind  him.  This  was  a  great  blow  to  our 
people,  and  yet  God  used  it  for  good.  No 
other  man  that  had  gone  into  the  battle  carried 
so  many  charms  and  so  much  "  medicine."  He 


58        A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


had  been  to  a  number  of  devil-doctors  and 
tliey  had  all  told  him  that  the  "  medicine  "  they 
had  t^iven  him  was  sufficient  to  protect  him 
in  battle,  and  that  no  ball  couhl  penetrate  his 
skin  while  he  wore  the  charms  they  had  given 
him.  When  our  people  saw  this  man  and 
others  fall  they  were  frightened,  for  all  but  two 
of  them  had  gone  trusting  for  their  lives  to  the 
"  medicine  "  they  wore. 

But,  while  they  had  reason  to  fear,  the  enemy 
had  yet  more  reason.  They  remembered  the 
treaty  promise  they  had  made,  never  to  kill 
their  brotliers.  God  Avas  their  witness  and  the 
judge  between  them,  and  by  being  the  fust  to 
break  the  Law  they  felt  that  they  had  lost  his 
favor.  Their  courage  failed  them ;  and, 
although  they  had  had  the  advantage  in  firing 
the  first  shot  and  killing  one  of  our  best  men, 
yet  the  consciousness  of  having  broken  their 
oath  made  their  hearts  sink.  The  Garraway 
people,  on  the  other  hand,  felt  that,  according 
to  the  covenant  between  them,  victory  was 
theirs,  and  they  took  fresh  courage.  Sheath- 
ing their  swords,  they  took  their  guns  and  be- 
gan to  fire. 

From  the  door  of  the  mission  house  I  saw 
the  first  gun  fired  and  heard  the  shots  which 
followed  in  quick  succession.  I  knew  when 
our  people  began  to  fire,  and  could  see  them 


TiiK  War. 


59 


slowly  drivini^  the  enemy  back.  After  two 
hums  of  figlitint;  with  guns,  swords,  da^^gers, 
and  cannon  1  saw  the  smoke  begin  to  rise  from 
the  enemy's  town.  Then  I  knew  that  our 
tribe  had  been  victorious  and  driven  the  enemy 
back  to  the  town,  then  out  of  it,  and  had  set 
it  on  fire. 

lieforc  any  fighting  had  taken  pL'icc  the 
)-oung  men  liad  talked  of  the  day  wlicn  they 
would  be  on  the  battlefield,  and  I  had  said,  "  If 
you  fight  I  am  going  to  come  to  town."  They 
had  told  me  not  to  come  until  I  saw  that  they 
had  fired  the  enemy's  town  and  the  smoke 
came  up  black.  Then  I  might  know  that  the 
town  was  well  destroyed  and  the  enemy  had 
fled.  So,  when  I  saw  the  town  on  fire  I  got 
ready  medicines  and  bandages,  and  when  the 
smoke  became  black  I  went  to  town.  It  was 
about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when  I  got 
there.  I  found  many  of  the  wounded  soldiers, 
and  at  once  set  to  work  to  dress  their  wounds. 

Some  were  shot  in  the  leg,  some  in  the 
trunk,  and  some  in  the  arm.  Some  of  the 
wounds  had  the  bullets  still  in  them,  and  we 
took  them  out  with  a  penknife.  The  mission 
carpenter,  who  was  working  on  a  house  near 
the  town,  was  there  before  me  and  had  already 
bound  up  several  of  the  wounds.  We  both 
worked  all  afternoon,  being  called  first  to  one 


6o       A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

place  and  then  another.  One  man  was  shot 
between' the  eyes  and  seemed  a  hopeless  case, 
although  he  lived  for  several  days  in  great  suf- 
fering. 

Our  first  interpreter  had  promised  to  trust 
God,  and  not  the  "  medicine."  But  liis  moth- 
er, fearing  for  him,  had  gone  to  the  devil-doctor 
and  inquired  about  her  son's  safety.  The  doc- 
tor had  told  her  not  to  let  him  go  to  the  war. 
But  he,  not  willing  to  believe  the  devil-doctor, 
declared  he  would  go,  nevertheless,  and  fight 
for  his  home  and  country.  He  accordingly 
went  along  with  the  rest,  and,  being  in  the 
front  of  the  battle,  was  shot  in  the  temple 
and  brought  back  to  town.  He  knew  that  his 
mother  would  be  alarmed  to  see  him  carried, 
and  so  had  two  men  take  hold  of  his  arms  and 
help  him  walk.  When  the, poor  woman  saw 
him  she  was  wild  with  grief.  I  dressed  his 
wound,  but  perceived  at  once  that  it  was  se- 
rious, and,  in  fact,  I  did  not  see  how  he  could 
live.  I  took  out  several  pieces  of  bone  ;  and 
we  washed  the  wound  well,  to  guard  against 
possible  poison. 

Eight  men  who  had  gone  out  to  battle  had 
died  on  the  field,  and  twenty-two  had  fallen 
in  the  towns  on  the  beach,  while  a  number 
more  in  the  bush  towns  were  wounded.  So 
the  towns  were  filled  with  the  groans  of  the 


The  War. 


61 


wounded  and  mourning  for  tlic  dead.  I  never 
witnessed  sucii  a  sight  or  heard  such  waiHng 
as  I  did  that  day  ;  and  I  liope,  so  long  as  I 
may  be  spared  to  labor  in  Africa,  I  may  never 
meet  the  same  again. 

It  was  long  after  dark  when  I  started  for 
home.  The  mission  carpenter  had  already 
gone,  and  I  could  get  no  person  to  go  with 
mc  to  the  mission,  for  the  towns  were  all  in 
confusion,  every  man  either  wounded  or  on 
guard  or  burying  the  dead  or  busy  about 
something.  There  was  no  hope  of  getting 
anyone  to  accompany  mc  that  night.  I  started 
alone.  It  was  so  dark  that  I  could  scarcely 
see  to  keep  the  narrow  footpath  among  the 
bushes  and  grass.  It  is  in  such  hours  that  I 
have  tested  the  power  and  presence  of  God  to 
keep  me.  And  how  wonderfully  he  has  done 
it  and  brought  me  through  all  these  most  try- 
ing periods  !  To  his  name  be  all  the  praise  ! 
When  I  reached  home  the  children  had  had 
their  supper,  and  I  sat  down  and  ate  some- 
thing ;  but,  hungry  as  I  was,  I  was  so  tired  I 
could  scarcely  eat. 

Just  as  we  were  ready  for  bed,  our  presiding 
elder  and  his  wife  came  in  from  up  the  coast. 
They  had  been  thirty-six  hours  in  the  boat 
without  food  or  water,  and  were  quite  over- 
come from  exposure  to  the  tropical  sun  and 
5 


62        A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


the  cool  night  air.  We  got  something  for  them 
to  eat,  and  then  all  retired  to  rest.  They  went 
on  their  way  to  the  Cape  in  the  morning,  and 
I  went  to  the  town  to  attend  to  the  sick. 

Many  of  our  mission  children  had  friends 
killed  in  the  war,  and  their  people  called  them 
home  to  mourn  with  them  ;  therefore,  I  had 
only  two  little  boys  to  teach.  As  I  found  that 
I  could  not  spend  much  time  at  home — being 
continually  summoned  to  town — I  let  these  two 
little  boys  go  to  their  own  people  for  a  timiC, 
leaving  with  me  one  boy  of  another  tribe  and 
an  old  man.  It  was  impossible  to  attend  to  the 
wounded  and  do  anything  in  the  mission  house. 

When  I  went  to  town  I  found  that  our  in- 
terpreter, "  Bob  Charcoal  " — a  name  which  the 
traders  had  given  him  because  he  was  so  very 
black — had  become  very  weak.  I  took  him  a 
cup  of  tea,  which  he  drank ;  and  I  dressed  his 
wound,  talked  with  him  a  few  minutes,  and 
then  went  on  to  attend  to  the  rest.  I  had 
gone  to  another  town  to  attend  to  patients 
there,  when  a  woman  came  running  up  and 
shouted  at  the  top  of  her  voice  that  Bob  was 
dead.  I  went  back  at  once  to  where  he  was, 
and  found  the  people  standing  around  the 
house.  I  forced  my  way  through  the  crowd 
and  into  the  house. 

It  was  a  little  hut  about  twelve  feet  square, 


The  War. 


63 


and  full  of  women,  with  a  fire  in  the  center, 
and  three  old  women  holding  Bob  up  in  the 
corner.  It  was  so  hot  and  smoky  that  I  could 
remain  but  a  few  minutes.  I  forced  my  way 
to  Bob,  looked  into  his  face,  and  saw  that  he 
was  not  dead,  but  was  almost  smothered.  I 
rushed  out  and  told  some  of  the  men  that  he 
was  alive,  and  that  they  must  bring-  him  out- 
side. They  went  in,  shoving  the  screaming 
women  aside.  The  uproar  was  deafening.  The 
women,  far  from  imagining  that  they  them- 
selves were  smothering  him  to  death,  believed 
that  by  hiding  him  away  in  the  little  hut  he 
would  be  safe  from  the  witches,  and  that  keep- 
ing him  beside  that  smoky  fire  was  his  only 
chance  for  life.  Their  crowding  round  him  and 
their  cries  were  to  show  him  that  he  was  much 
appreciated,  and  that  they  were  all  very  sorry 
to  lose  him. 

I  ran  for  water,  since  I  knew  that  in  such  ex- 
citement there  was  no  hope  of  getting  anybody 
to  send  for  it.  I  found  some  in  a  house  near 
by.  When  I  came  back,  the  men  had  Bob  out- 
side. I  made  all  the  women  stand  back  and 
stop  their  screaming,  while  I  bathed  him  with 
cold  water  until  he  revived.  Then  I  told  the 
people  to  take  him  to  his  own  house,  and  that 
I  would  take  care  of  him  myself.  So  they  car- 
ried him  home,  and  we  put  him  to  bed. 


64        A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

I  told  the  kiiit^,  who  was  his  uncle,  that  the 
townspeople  must  not  be  allowed  to  come 
around  and  make  a  noise.  We  kept  them  rea- 
sonably quiet  so  long  as  I  was  there,  but  the 
great  trouble  in  time  of  sickness  with  these  peo- 
ple is  to  get  any  person  to  assume  responsibility. 
The  nearest  friend,  even  the  mother,  if  she 
should  show  any  uncommon  attention  to  her 
son,  might  be  accused  of  witching  him  and 
taken  out  and  subjected  to  the  deadly  ordeal 
of  the  "sasswood."  It  is  impossible  to  have  a 
sick  person  cared  for,  unless  you  do  it  yourself. 
The  people  are  likely  to  have  him  sitting  up 
close  by  the  fire,  or  lying  on  the  bare  ground 
outside,  or  to  bathe  him  thoroughly  in  hot 
water,  I  could  not  bear  the  thought  of  Bob's 
dying  from  neglect ;  so  I  took  my  cot  bed  to 
town,  put  it  up  in  his  house,  and  stayed  by 
him  all  night.  He  was  very  restless,  and  all 
the  next  day  suffered  much.  I  left  him  only  to 
attend  to  my  other  patients. 

The  fifth  day  he  was  unconscious  part  of  the 
time,  but  at  other  times  I  talked  with  him  a 
little  when  he  was  quiet.  He  had  told  me  be- 
fore that  if  the  people  buried  him,  it  would  be 
all  right,  for  he  was  "  God's  man,"  and  was 
going  to  live  in  heaven  with  God.  I  read  and 
prayed  with  him  every  day,  and  we  used  to 
talk  of  God  and  heaven.    The  last  night,  after 


The  War. 


65 


wc  liad  h;ul  prayer,  he  said,  "  Now,  I  waiil 
you  to  say  tluit  chapter  aU  over,  and  let  me 
say  it  after  you."  So  I  repeated  it,  a  few  words 
at  a  time,  and  lie  repeated  it  after  me.  It  was 
the  seventy-first  Psalm — one  that  had  been 
given  to  him  for  a  lesson  when  he  used  to  come 
to  school.  After  repeating  it  all  over,  he  prayed 
in  his  native  language.  The  king  was  sitting 
near  him,  and  called  to  him  until  he  answered 
him.  I  said,  "  King,  Bob  was  praying,  wasn't 
he?"  The  king  did  not  answer  me;  but  Bob 
replied,  "  I  was.  Ask  him  what  he  stopped  me 
for." 

He  fell  asleep  for  a  while,  but  was  restless  all 
night.  Some  of  the  soldiers  were  returning 
from  the  watch  during  the  night,  and  called  in 
to  see  how  he  was.  He  had  been  suffering 
much,  and  wanted  to  turn  over  while  they  were 
there.  I  asked  them  to  help  him  ;  but  not  one 
of  them  would  touch  him,  for  they  believe  if  a 
soldier  going  to  war  should  touch  a  wounded 
man  he  would  be  sure  to  be  wounded  himself 
when  he  went  into  battle.  So  Bob,  seeing  that 
none  would  help  him,  made  a  desperate  at- 
tempt and  stood  straight  up  in  his  bed.  His 
sister  and  I  got  him  to  lie  down,  but  he  was 
quite  exhausted  and  never  spoke  after  that. 
At  eleven  o'clock  the  next  morning  he  died 
without  a  struggle,  resting  quietly  as  if  asleep. 


66 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


Men,  women,  and  children  cried  when  they 
heard  that  Bob  was  dead,  for  he  was  loved  and 
respected  by  all.  I  felt  as  sad  as  if  my  own 
brother  had  died,  for  he  had  been  a  brother  to 
ine;  and  I  sat  down  and  cried  with  the  rest. 
The  people  were  kind  to  me  and  felt  sorry  for 
me.  One  of  the  chiefs  took  me  by  the  hand 
and  led  me  away  from  the  house,  to  his  own, 
where  they  put  up  my  bed  and  told  me  I  should 
lie  down  and  rest,  but  must  not  cry. 

They  began  at  once  to  prepare  to  bury  him  ; 
for  it  is  their  custom  in  war  time  not  to  keep 
their  dead,  but  bury  them  at  once.  They  took 
a  canoe  and  made  a  coffin  out  of  it,  and  soon 
were  ready  to  lay  the  body  away.  They  came 
to  call  me,  and  said  that  I  must  bring  "the 
Book"  and  read.  I  did  not  know  how  I  could 
speak  or  read  through  my  tears  ;  but  they  urged 
me  to  go.  I  asked  God  to  give  me  grace  for 
that  special  duty,  and,  through  sobs  and  tears, 
I  read  a  part  of  the  seventy-first  Psalm— the 
one  Bob  had  repeated  the  night  before  he  died. 
I  held  in  my  hand  the  Bible  I  had  given  to 
Bob  ;  it  was  all  soiled  at  the  places  where  he 
had  studied  his  lessons. 

He  was  buried  within  two  hours  after  he 
died,  as  there  was  danger  of  the  enemy  attack- 
ing them,  and  there  was  no  time  for  their  hea- 
then rites.  They  buried  him  among  the  chiefs, 


TiiK  War, 


67 


on  the  beach,  aUliough  he  was  not  more  tlian 
twenty-seven  years  old,  and,  according  to  their 
custom,  was  called  "  a  small  boy."  But  he  was 
a  man  of  such  principle,  and  was  so  liked  by 
all,  that  they  buried  him  by  the  side  of  a  king 
who  had  died  in  battle. 

The  afternoon  was  wet,  and  I  could  not  go 
home.  I  was  so  tired  and  worn-out  from  sit- 
ting up  at  night  that  I  felt  I  must  lurve  a  rest 
or  I  should  be  sick  myself.  So  the  next  day  I 
returned  to  the  mission  and  went  to  bed.  In 
the  morning  I  went  to  see  the  sick  again.  For 
two  or  three  days  I  spent  most  of  my  time  in 
the  town,  coming  home  at  night.  I  had  lost 
so  much  sleep  that  I  was  weary ;  but  the 
thoughts  of  the  war  and  the  sufferings  of  the 
people  often  kept  me  long  awake. 


68        A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  END  OF  THE  WAR. 

The  Famine. — Dethroning  a  King. — A  Night  Alarm. — Best- 
man's  Bravery. — Woe  to  the  Vanquished. — The  Devil- 
doctor's  Money. — End  of  the  War. — "  The  Spevi'ing  of  the 
Water." 

ONE  day  when  I  was  in  town  a  letter  came 
to  the  king,  who  called  me  to  read  it. 
It  was  from  a  friendly  tribe  at  Cape  Palmas, 
warning  him  that  the  Fishtown  people  were 
going  to  bring  war  against  him  by  sea. 

Our  people  began  to  look  so  worn,  weary, 
and  thin  that  it  was  very  evident  they  were 
famishing.  I  felt  that  many  of  the  hungry 
ones  were  not  likely  to  see  Christmas,  now 
not  many  days  distant,  and,  if  they  did,  would 
not  be  able  to  enjoy  the  day,  on  account  of 
the  war.  I  thought  the  greatest  kindness  I 
could  do  to  them  would  be  to  give  them  some- 
thing to  cat.  I  baked  a  few  loaves  of  bread, 
measured  out  half  a  sack  of  rice,  some  tea, 
dried  apples,  and  sugar,  also  a  bag  of  potatoes, 
and  sent  word  to  the  king  that  he  must  send 
up  to  the  mission  to  get  them,  so  that  they 
might  have  a  dinner.    He  sent  up  six  men 


TiiK  End  ok  the  War. 


69 


to  get  the  things  and  to  thank  nic.  Many 
thanks  I  received  the  next  day  when  1  went  to 
town. 

All  was  war  palaver  in  town.  They  had 
accused  the  king  of  witching  the  war,  and  two 
of  the  devil-doctors  of  making  medicine  to  kill 
their  own  people.  Everybody  was  excited. 
Men  and  woman  came  down  from  the  bush 
towns  of  our  tribe  to  talk  this  war  palaver. 
The  women  did  the  principal  part  of  the  talk- 
ing. The  people  all  sat  down  in  the  sun  be- 
fore the  king's  house  at  ten  o'clock ;  and, 
although  there  came  a  heavy  shower  of  rain, 
they  did  not  move  their  seats,  but  talked  on 
through  it  all.  Some  of  the  women  are  great 
talkers  and  can  hold  the  attention  of  all  the 
people.  Although  the  king  denied  the  charge, 
yet  many  of  the  people  believed  him  guilty 
and  threatened  his  life  if  any  more  lives  were 
lost  in  the  war. 

That  night  the  king,  fearing  the  anger  of  the 
people,  started  to  run  away,  but  was  caught  by 
the  people  as  he  was  crossing  the  river  to 
the  other  tribe.  They  tied  him  hand  and 
foot,  put  him  in  the  top  of  a  small  hut,  built 
a  fire,  and  threw  red  pepper  into  it.  They 
smothered  the  flames  to  smoke  with  green 
grass  and  bushes,  and,  shutting  the  door,  left 
the  poor  creature  there  until  morning,  when 


70 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


he  fell  down  to  the  floor  through  the  hole 
in  the  ceiling  through  which  they  hud  put 
him  up. 

They  untied  him  then  ;  but  he  was  so  stift" 
and  stupid  that  he  could  scarcely  move.  When 
he  felt  better  they  again  asked  him  whether 
he  was  guilty  or  not.  Knowing  that  the 
people  Avould  take  no  explanation,  he  said 
that  he  was,  but  would  make  some  "  medi- 
cine "  to  counteract  all  the  witchcraft  he  liad 
used  in  the  war.  They  kept  him  shut  up  all 
day,  but  let  him  go  to  his  own  house  that 
night. 

The  next  day,  being  Sunday,  I  went  to  one 
of  the  small  towns  to  hold  service.  We  had 
not  been  able  to  have  service  for  several  weeks, 
since  the  excited  people  could  not  be  induced 
to  sit  together  in  one  place  ;  and  it  was  seldom 
they  were  in  town,  for  all  the  smaller  towns 
had  to  be  guarded.  I  had  just  got  a  congre- 
gation together  and  started  the  service  when 
there  came  a  man  who  called  all  the  people  to 
the  king's  town  for  palaver.  My  meetings  were 
at  an  end  for  that  day,  and  I  went  with  the  rest 
to  hear  the  palaver.  It  was  about  the  king's 
witching  the  war,  and  the  warriors  were  furious. 
Some  of  them  wished  to  take  the  ring  off  his 
ankle  and  take  him  out  and  kill  him.  But  he 
begged  them  so  hard  not  to  do  it  that  they 


TiiK  End  of  tiik  War.  71 

left  liiin  to  make  tlic  "  nicdiciiic  "  which  he 
had  said  would  counteract  all  the  witchcraft 
and  yive  them  sure  success. 

1  had  been  in  the  habit  of  taking  one  day 
for  rest  and  letting  the  children  go  to  the 
river  to  fish.  But  since  the  w^ar  had  begun 
I  had  had  no  rest  day,  for  many  people  called 
at  the  mission,  and  I  never  liked  to  refuse  to 
see  them.  In  those  war  times  I  felt  that  pos- 
sibly I  should  never  sec  them  again  or  have 
another  chance  to  urge  them  to  accept  Jesus 
Christ  as  their  Saviour. 

One  morning  the  king  passed  our  house 
vi'ithout  coming  in.  I  asked  him  to  stop,  but 
he  said  he  was  going  to  find  some  "  medicine  " 
and  would  be  back  soon.  So  I  set  the  tea  on 
the  stove,  as  I  knew  he  would  be  sure  to  want 
a  drink  of  tea  and  something  to  eat  on  his 
way  home;  for  he  was  always  hungry.  I 
looked  for  him  for  some  time,  but  he  did  not 
come.  I  thought  that  he  had  perhaps  gone 
home  by  another  way  and  was  making  the 
"  medicine"  for  the  war. 

Just  as  it  was  growing  dark  he  came,  and 
stood  for  a  few  minutes  under  the  house, 
listening  to  discover  whether  any  of  his  per- 
secutors were  there.  One  of  my  boys  came  to 
tell  me  that  the  king  had  arrived.  I  at  once 
felt  that  something  was  the  matter,  for  these 


72        A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

people  do  not  like  to  be  out  in  the  dark  if 
they  can  help  it. 

I  went  out  and  met  him  just  as  he  came 
into  tlie  house.  It  was  almost  dark.  I  asked, 
"Is  this  you,  king?"  "  Yes,"  he  answered; 
"is  there  anyone  in  the  house?"  I  told  him 
there  was  no  person  but  our  family,  and  in- 
vited him  to  sit  down.  He  said  the  people 
had  been  all  ready  to  kill  him  in  the  morning; 
but  he  had  run  away  and  had  been  in  the  bush 
all  day  without  anything  to  cat.  He  had  two 
cassadas  in  his  hand,  and  asked  me  to  cook 
them  for  him.  We  made  a  fire  and  got  some- 
thing for  him  to  cat.  He  asked  to  stay  all 
night.  I  told  him  he  could,  but  inquired  what 
he  meant  to  do  in  the  morning.  He  said  that 
he  intended  to  run  away  and  never  come  back 
to  the  country  again. 

When  a  man  is  made  king  a  metal  ring  is 
put  on  his  ankle  as  a  sign  of  his  authority  ;  and 
this  ring  belongs  to  the  tribe  and  is  handed 
down  from  one  generation  to  another.  I  asked 
him  whether  it  would  not  be  a  good  thing 
for  him  to  take  the  ring  off"  his  foot  and  leave 
it  with  me.  I  would  take  it,  I  said,  to  the 
people  in  the  morning  and  tell  them  that  I 
had  seen  him,  and  that  he  had  gone  to  another 
tribe  ;  and  I  would  beg  them  not  to  search 
for  him.    "Yes,"  he  said.    If  it  had  not  been 


The  End  of  the  War. 


73 


for  the  l  ing  on  his  foot  he  would  have  gone 
far  away  that  day,  but  by  the  anklet  any 
person  he  met  would  know  that  he  was  a 
king,  and  he  would  be  more  easily  found  out. 
I  got  down  on  the  floor  and,  with  a  pair  of 
I)incers,  unwound  the  wire  that  fastened  the 
ring. 

After  supper  I  gave  him  matches  and  a 
blanket  to  wrap  himself  in  and  prepared  him 
for  his  jouriic)'.  lie  had  a  dagger  with  him. 
lie  said  he  was  going  to  sleep  in  the  bush 
and  would  take  some  vegetables  from  the 
farm  as  he  passed  along.  lie  wanted  the 
matches  to  light  a  fire  to  roast  them.  He  lay 
down  on  his  mat  to  sleep,  but  asked  me  to  let 
the  lamp  burn  by  him.  He  kept  his  dagger  by 
his  side,  and  was  so  nervous  that  he  would 
start  at  the  least  sound.  None  of  us  slept 
much  that  night.  At  four  o'clock  I  got  up 
and  got  something  for  him  to  eat,  and  he 
started  off  before  daylight.  He  intended  never 
to  return  to  his  home  again,  but  hoped  to 
meet  some  friendly  tribe  with  whom  he  might 
live  out  the  rest  of  his  days,  which  would  not 
be  many,  for  he  was  already  an  old  man. 

About  eight  o'clock  his  brother  came  up  to 
the  mission  to  see  whether  I  knew  anything 
about  the  king.  I  showed  him  the  king's  ring, 
related  what  I  knew,  and  told  him  that  I  was 


74 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


only  waiting;  for  the  dew  to  dry  off  the  grass 
before  coining  down  to  bring  the  ring  and  ex- 
plain that  the  king  was  gone. 

When  I  went  to  town  they  called  the 
warriors  together.  I  gave  them  the  anklet  and, 
telling  them  what  had  passed  at  our  house, 
asked  them  not  to  follow  the  king,  but  let  him 
go  in  peace.  They  thanked  me  many  times 
for  taking  the  ring  off  the  king's  foot  and 
bringing  it  to  them,  saying  I  had  done  them  a 
good  service. 

The  king  wandered  on  for  three  days,  crawl- 
ing through  the  thick  bushes  at  night  and 
hiding  away  during  the  day,  that  he  might  not 
be  found  by  his  own  tribe.  But  when  he  was 
near  the  place  where  he  was  going  for  refuge,  a 
hunter  discovered  him,  and  he  was  brought  to 
one  of  the  bush  towns  of  our  own  people. 
They  were  kind  to  him,  keeping  him  for 
several  months,  and  finally  making  peace  be-, 
tween  him  and  his  own  town  people  and 
bringing  him  again  to  his  former  home.  For 
many  months  he  had  no  power  at  all  among 
the  people.  At  length,  however,  the  devil- 
doctor  declared  that  the  devil  was  not  pleased 
with  the  way  they  had  treated  their  king,  and 
wished  them  to  put  the  ring  on  his  foot  again. 
Accordingly  a  sacrifice  was  offered  to  the  devil 
for  the  wrong  they  had  done,  and  the  ring  was 


The  End  ok  the  War. 


75 


restored  to  the  king's  foot  ;  and  he  wore  it 
until  he  died  two  years  later. 

On  a  Saturday  I  was  awakened  just  as  it 
began  to  grow  light,  by  the  firing  of  guns.  I 
threw  open  the  window — not  a  glazed  sash,  but 
a  rough  board  shutter — and  looked  out  to  see 
what  was  the  matter  at  that  early  hour.  I 
found  that  the  enemy  had  come  by  stealth  and 
seemed  to  be  in  one  of  our  small  towns.  There 
was  a  force  of  about  eighty  men  ;  and  in  quick 
succession  they  fired  their  guns.  I  heard  the 
screams  and  cries  of  our  people.  I  feared  they 
would  burn  the  town  that  morning,  and  kill 
many  of  the  people,  for  I  knew  that  this  town 
was  not  so  well  fortified  as  the  others,  and  I 
remembered  that  on  account  of  its  location  it 
was  not  guarded  as  closely  as  the  others.  The 
foe  had  come  in  by  a  back  road,  and  had 
reached  the  fence,  which  was  only  fifteen  feet 
from  the  first  house  in  the  town.  Inside  of 
this  light  fence  was  a  barricade.  For  several 
days  everything  had  been  quiet,  and  no  guard 
had  been  stationed  there  until  that  night. 

In  place  of  our  dead  interpreter  we  had 
chosen  "  Bestman,"  a  young  man  who  was 
anxious  to  learn  and  was  one  of  the  two  who 
went  through  the  war  without  "  medicine," 
charms,  or  protection  from  the  heathen  gods. 

His  mother's  house  was  the  nearest  to  the 


76 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


fence,  and  slic  had  prevailed  on  her  husband, 
the  chief  man  in  the  town,  to  have  a  guard  set 
at  the  barricade  behind  the  house. 

Bestman,  so  named  because  of  his  good 
qualities,  was  one  of  the  four  sentinels  posted 
there.  They  thought  it  would  be  sufficient  to 
watch  only  during  the  early  hours  of  the  morn- 
ing, the  most  likely  time  for  an  attack.  But 
Bestman  could  not  sleep  all  night.  Several 
times  he  was  up.  He  had  called  the  rest  of 
the  guard  more  than  once.  One  of  them  was 
angry  at  being  awakened  "just  when  the  gods 
were  telling  him  something,"  as  he  said.  He 
had  placed  his  idols  at  his  head  when  he  lay 
down,  that  they  might  talk  to  him  while  he 
slept ;  and  he  believed  the  dreams  that  came  to 
him  were  what  the  idols  told  him. 

Only  two  of  the  watchers,  Bestman  and  his 
brother,  were  in  their  places  when  the  enemy 
appeared.  A  grove  of  palm  trees  had  hidden 
them  until  they  were  near  the  town,  and  now 
that  they  were  seen  they  were  close  to  the 
fence.  The  two  men  at  the  barricade  fired 
their  guns  and  gave  the  alarm.  The  other 
two  came  at  once,  and  met  the  leader  of  the 
enemy  just  entering  the  gate  of  the  town. 
They  fired,  and  he  dropped  dead.  Another  of 
the  enemy  began  to  hack  at  the  fence  with  his 
word,  but  was  shot  by  a  man  who  had  rushed 


The  End  of  the  War. 


77 


to  the  liclp  of  tlic  guard.  Six  others  of  our 
people  fired  ;  and  the  enemy,  seeing  that  they 
were  discovered  and  their  leader  was  fallen, 
began  to  retrace  their  steps.  I  supposed  from 
the  dense  powder  smoke  that  the  town  must 
be  burning.  The  noise  was  terrible  •  and  in 
the  still  of  the  morning  we  could  hear  every 
sound. 

In  a  few  minutes  I  saw  a  crowd  running  from 
the  town,  and  thought  them  our  women  and 
children  fleeing  for  their  lives.  They  came  in 
the  direction  of  the  mission,  and  I  soon  dis- 
covered them  to  be  the  enemy,  for  they  had 
guns  in  their  hands.  They  went  around  the 
fence  of  our  farm,  over  the  hill  into  the  swamp, 
and  on  to  their  own  village. 

The  enemy  had  planned  to  take  the  small 
town  that  clay,  and  to  this  end  had  divided 
their  forces  into  three  bodies,  one  advancing 
directly  to  the  town  in  question,  a  second  pro- 
ceeding by  another  road  to  make  a  pretended 
attack  upon  the  large  town,  and  a  third  ap- 
proaching in  canoes  as  if  to  attack  the  king's 
town  by  sea.  When  the  firing  began  in  the 
small  town  the  enemy  showed  themselves  at 
the  other  two  places.  Every  one  of  our  m&n 
had  to  stand  at  his  own  post,  and  none  could 
be  spared  to  go  to  the  help  of  the  weaker  vil- 
lage. The  men  who  attacked  the  small  town 
6 


78 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


outnumbered  the  villagers  three  times,  and 
could  easily  have  taken  the  place,  had  it  not 
been  that  God  was  set  for  the  defense  of  our 
people.  In  this  small  town  lived  the  two  men 
who  had  trusted  God  through  all  the  war  ;  and 
I  believe  that  God  gave  our  people  the  victory 
to  show  them  that  it  came  not  by  might,  but 
through  his  aid. 

As  soon  as  the  enemy  had  passed  I  went  at 
once  to  the  town,  feeling  that  surely  there 
would  be  many  killed  and  wounded  after  so 
much  firing  at  close  range.  On  the  way  I  met 
several  of  our  soldiers,  who  said  to  me,  "  O, 
teacher,  nobody  die,  no  man  hurt."  I  went  on 
with  them  to  the  town,  and  found  the  villagers 
gathering  together  to  discuss  the  attack.  The 
defenders  of  the  town  were  running  to  and  fro, 
and  the  women  were  taking  up  dust  and 
throwing  it  over  them,  and  were  shouting  and 
singing  their  praises. 

I  found  our  interpreter,  Rcstman,  with  his 
coat  and  trousers  on.  This  was  a  remarkable 
thing  for  a  native.  Generally  they  cannot  be 
induced  to  put  on  such  clothes.  All  they  wear 
is  a  small  piece  of  cloth  about  the  loins. 
When  they  go  to  battle  they  add  their  war 
charms,  anything  that  will  disguise  them  and 
make  them  look  hideous,  and  cover  their 
bodies  with  "  war  medicine,"  to  make  their 


The  End  of  the  War. 


79 


skin  bullet-proof;  or  it  may  be  that  this  charm 
is  to  keep  the  balls  from  strikinj^-  them  at  all. 

The  people  crowded  around  liestman,  seeing 
him  with  his  clothes  on  antl  knowing  that  he 
had  been  one  of  the  brave  guard.  They  would 
ask  him  if  "  for  true  "  he  had  worn  those 
clothes  when  the  enemy  came.  When  he  an- 
swered that  he  had  they  would  exclaim,  "  For 
true,  true,  God  got  strong.  God  help  we  to- 
day. If  it  no  been  God  help  we,  our  town  done 
burn  this  time." 

The  leader  of  the  enemy  lay  where  he  fell, 
just  outside  the  fence.  I  went  to  look  at 
him  ;  and  O,  what  a  sight  !  Every  soldier 
that  passed  had  cut  a  gash  in  the  body  with 
his  sword,  until  it  was  completely  mangled,  the 
arms  and  feet  cut  off,  and  the  head  laid  open. 
Every  additional  passer-by  displayed  his  brav- 
ery by  bestowing  one  wound  more. 

Meanwhile  the  enemy  were  being  pursued  ; 
and  one  of  their  men  was  found  with  both  of  his 
legs  broken.  He  was  most  unmercifully  hacked 
to  pieces  by  our  cruel-hearted  warriors.  They 
followed  on  and  found  another,  who  suffered 
as  the  first.  Several  guns  were  picked  up  on 
the  road.  A  few  days  afterward  they  discov- 
ered another  man,  a  deserter  of  their  own  peo- 
ple, who  had  been  wounded  in  the  assault  and 
left  in  the  swamp  to  die. 


8o 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


Three  days  after  the  battle  our  people  found 
a  young  man  with  both  his  legs  broken.  He 
had  crawled  at  night  among  the  bushes  until 
he  was  nearly  home.  The  young  warriors  who 
found  him  cut  his  head  off  and  brought  it  to 
town  in  great  triumph.  But  the  old  men  were 
not  pleased  with  them,  and  saitl  that  he  should 
have  been  brought  in  alive  and  made  to  tell 
the  plans  of  the  enemy  and  how  their  towns 
were  fortified. 

One  evening  a  woman  came  from  Nemia  to 
be  the  wife  of  one  of  our  men.  Our  people 
were  rejoiced  to  receive  one  who  could  give 
them  information  of  their  enemies.  They  fired 
eight  guns  that  night  and  four  in  the  morning, 
as  a  sign  to  the  enemy  that  they  had  received 
the  woman  and  were  exulting  over  it. 

There  were  ten  devil-doctors  in  our  tribe, 
who  made  much  "  medicine  "  in  time  of  war. 
But  the  people  feared  defeat  if  they  trusted  to 
their  medicine  alone,  and  had  sent  for  a  more 
famous  devil-doctor  who  lived  several  miles 
away.  He  had  been  with  our  tribe  for  months, 
and  had  been  given  everything  he  asked  for, 
as  an  inducement  to  make  "  medicine  "  that 
would  surely  give  them  victory. 

They  had  given  him  bullocks  in  return  for 
the  charms  and  idols  he  had  made.  Some  of 
these  he  had  sold  and  intended   taking  the 


The  End  of  the  War. 


8i 


money  home  willi  him.  But  one  night  when 
he  was  drunk  he  lost  it.  Wlien  lie  became 
sober  he  missed  it  and  accused  some  of  our 
people  of  stealing  it.  He  was  very  angry,  and 
said  that  nothing  should  be  done  in  the  town 
until  his  money  was  found.  He  even  forbade 
the  women  going  for  water  or  cooking.  Ev- 
erything in  the  village  came  to  a  standstill. 
The  town  was  searched,  and  the  accused  per- 
sons were  threatened  with  having  to  drink 
"  sasswood  "  if  the  money  was  not  found  be- 
fore a  certain  day. 

After  a  general  uproar,  much  excitement, 
and  many  hard  words  one  of  his  own  wives — 
for  he  had  brought  three  of  his  ten  wives  with 
him — confessed  to  having  taken  the  money 
while  he  lay  in  a  drunken  stupor.  She  had 
feared  lest  he  should  spend  it  all,  and  she  get 
none.  The  people  were  much  offended  by  the 
way  he  had  acted,  but  were  glad  to  have  the 
truth  known  at  last. 

In  spite  of  their  victories  the  people  re- 
mained in  constant  fear.  The  enemy  far  out- 
numbered them,  and  they  stood  in  constant 
danger  of  attack.  For  some  time  all  the  sol- 
diers slept  in  the  bush  outside  the  town,  and 
some  of  the  women  slept  across  the  river  with 
a  friendly  tribe — the  Po  River  people. 

The  devil-doctor  counseled  the  Garraways 


82        A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


to  wait  until  he  should  consult  the  devil  as  to 
the  best  time  for  attacking  the  remaining 
towns.  But  one  day  the  Po  River  people 
came  over  and  told  our  people  that  they  were 
tired  of  the  war  and  were  going"  to  make  an 
end  of  it.  The  devil-doctor  objected  to  their 
fighting  on  that  day  and  urged  tlicni  to  wait 
for  him  ;  but  the  people  answered  that  they 
meant  to  let  nothing  stop  them.  They  were 
determined  to  burn  the  other  towns  and  make 
an  end  of  the  war  that  day. 

Accordingly  they  put  "medicine"  in  their 
guns  and  on  their  skins,  and  set  out.  Their 
departure  was  not  known  to  all  the  people  ;  for 
some  of  the  young  men  who  hapiDcncd  to  be 
at  the  mission  house  knew  nothing  about  it 
until  they  saw  the  smoke.  Then  we  listened 
and  heard  the  firing.  The  young  men  ran  to 
town  for  their  guns  and  then  started  to  join 
their  comrades  ;  and  I  soon  followed  to  see 
what  I  could  find  to  do.  One  man  had  been 
killed,  and  five  were  wounded.  They  had  fallen 
upon  the  enemy  unexpectedly  and  entered 
their  town  with  little  difficulty,  but  few  senti- 
nels being  on  guard.  The  other  allied  tribes 
had  gone  home  to  get  ready  for  a  fresh  attack, 
and  the  men  of  the  town  were  compelled  to 
retreat,  leaving  the  women  and  children  to  flee 
to  the  bush  for  safety.    Our  people  that  day 


TiiK  End  of  the  War. 


83 


burned  three  towns  they  had  left  at  the  time 
of  the  previous  battle,  and  then  returned  to 
their  own  homes  jubihuit  over  tlieir  victories. 

The  enemy  was  thoroughly  defeated,  their 
homes  being  burned.  The  Teddies  had  begun 
the  war  ;  and  they  and  their  friends,  the  Ne- 
mia  people,  had  been  defeated  and  lost  their 
homes,  and  they  realized  that  there  was  no  use 
in  fighting  any  longer.  Our  people,  being  in 
control  of  the  beach,  had  forbidden  any  trade 
with  their  enemies  in  the  interior,  thus  depriv- 
ing the  bush  people  of  many  commodities,  and 
especially  salt,  which  they  prize  very  highly. 

Our  people  kept  a  close  guard  over  the  cap- 
tured places,  and  soon  began  to  build  a  new 
town  for  themselves  on  the  site  of  one  of  the 
Nemia  towns  they  had  burned.  This  was  ac- 
cording to  the  covenant  made  between  the 
tribes  when  they  had  called  the  gods  to  wit- 
ness that  they  would  never  fight  again.  That 
the  enemy  might  be  discouraged  from  all  hope 
of  returning,  our  people  cut  down  all  the  cocoa- 
nut,  plum,  and  other  fruit  trees  planted  by  the 
Nemia  people. 

One  morning,  about  two  weeks  later,  to  the 
great  delight  of  our  people,  the  Peddle  tribe 
sent  two  women  to  acknowledge  for  them  that 
they  were  defeated  and  ask  for  peace.  They 
came  first  to  our  bush  towns  and  then  down 


84        A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

to  the  beach.  One  of  the  women  held  a  small 
native-made  ax  in  her  hand,  and  went  around 
to  all  our  towns  holding  it  over  her  head  and 
calling  out,  "  Dwa  oh  !  dwa  oh  !  dwa  oh  !  " — 
which  is  their  way  of  confessing  themselves 
conquered  and  of  begging  for  pardon. 

That  was  a  day  of  rejoicing.  Our  people 
sent  the  women  back  with  a  message  to  their 
tribe  that,  if  they  really  wished  for  peace,  two 
of  their  soldiers  should  come  down  and  make 
"  medicine,"  and  then  our  people  would  send 
men  to  make  medicine  in  the  Peddie  town. 

One  rite  that  has  to  be  performed  as  a  part 
of  any  reconciliation  is  what  is  called  "  the 
spewing  of  water."  All  parties  concerned 
meet  together,  fill  a  basin  with  cold  water,  and 
each  in  turn  lifts  some  of  the  water  in  his 
hands  to  his  mouth.  Then  he  blows  it  out 
upon  the  palms  of  the  hands  of  the  other 
party.  This  is  done  by  each  party  three 
times,  these  words  being  repeated  :  "  1  do  this 
to  show  that  I  wash  myself  from  all  the  past. 
We  shall  be  friends  from  this  day." 

It  is  the  native  law  that  those  defeated  in 
war  shall  pay  a  fine  to  the  conquering  tribe. 
This  the  Peddies  and  Nemias  have  not  done, 
and  consequently  to-day  the  tribes  live  as  ene- 
mies, although  they  have  not  been  in  open 
warfare  since  1889. 


People,  Languages,  and  Customs.  85 


CHAPTER  V. 

LI15EU[A  — ITS  I'KOl'l.K,  LANGUAGES,  AND  CUS- 
TOMS. 

The  Government  of  Liberia.— Means  of  Liveliiiood.— Tiie 
Native  Peoples.— Native  Kings.— Pode  Seere.— "  Witcii- 
ing." — An  African  "Coronation" — Kalenky. — The  Po 
River  King. — A  Revolution. — A  Royal  Exile. 

THE  republic  of  Liberia  lies  in  western 
Africa,  on  what  is  known  as  the  Grain 
Coast.  It  is  about  three  hundred  miles  in 
length  along  the  Atlantic  and  extends  fifty 
miles  back  into  the  interior.  It  was  founded 
as  a  home  for  emancipated  slaves  from  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  its  laws  are 
modeled  upon  those  of  that  republic.  The 
Liberian  flag  is  somewhat  like  the  American, 
though  it  has  but  a  single  star.  The  American 
Colonization  Society  organized  and  sustained 
the  settlements  until  1847,  when  an  independ- 
ent form  of  government  was  adopted,  which 
was  recognized  by  most  of  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  There  are  an  elective  president,  vice 
president,  and  legislature,  and  a  well-organized 
system  of  judiciary  and  of  trial  by  jury;  and 
besides  there  are  governors  for  the  counties 
and  mayors  for  the  towns. 


86        A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


TIicsc  Libcrian  citizens  arc  quite  separate 
from  tlie  natives.  Many  of  them  have  learned 
the  languages  of  the  natives,  but  their  own 
language  is  the  English.  Some  of  the  men  are 
excellent  mechanics.  The  farmers  raise  chiefly 
vegetables,  as  well  as  some  coffee  and  sugar 
cane,  from  which  last  they  make  molasses,  and 
occasionally  a  little  brown  sugar. 

The  principal  means  of  support  is  by  trading 
with  the  natives  for  the  products  of  their  coun- 
try. A  number  of  the  Libcrians  do  a  good 
business  as  merchants.  They  go  up  and  down 
the  coast  and  rivers  in  surfboats,  taking  to  the 
natives  rice,  tobacco,  fish,  powder,  firearms, 
rum,  salt,  brass  kettles,  iron  pails,  beads,  basins, 
crockery,  and  other  manufactured  articles, 
which  they  exchange  for  palm  oil,  palm  ker- 
nels, fowls,  ivory,  rubber,  camwood,  walnut, 
and  other  kinds  of  wood. 

The  law  of  Liberia  allowing  the  white  man 
neither  to  own  land  nor  to  become  a  citizen  of 
the  republic  gives  the  whites  no  interest  in  the 
country  beyond  an  opportunity  of  making  all 
they  can  out  of  its  people  by  trading.  White 
residents  are  in  Liberia  only  for  the  sake  of 
money,  and  care  nothing  for  the  welfare  of  the 
people  or  the  good  of  the  country. 

Christian  missionaries  have  done  much  in 
the  way  of  teaching  the  people.    To  the  differ- 


Pkoi'I.k,  LaN(;ua(;i:s,  and  Customs.  87 

cat  societies  of  the  church  of  God  Liberia  owes 
its  present  condition.  The  people  have  re- 
ceived ahiiost  all  their  education  at  the  hands 
of  the  different  missionary  societies. 

The  native  peoples  of  Liberia  arc  very  easily 
distinguished  from  those  Liberians  who  arc  de- 
scended from  the  emancipated  American  slaves. 
They  live  in  native  huts,  built  according'  to  the 
pattern  of  their  fathers.  They  arc  subject  to  the 
government  of  the  republic  in  some  things,  yet 
have  their  own  customs  and  settle  their  own 
private  disputes.  Rarely  except  in  case  of  war 
do  they  apply  to  the  government  for  protec- 
tion, and  rarely  are  they  consulted  by  the  presi- 
dent, except  in  matters  of  common  interest. 

In  every  native  tribe  there  is  the  first,  or 
head,  king,  for  all  the  people.  His  office  cor- 
responds to  that  of  the  president  of  the  re- 
public. In  every  town  there  is,  besides,  a  local 
king,  corresponding  to  the  mayor  in  a  civilized 
town.  There  are  also  chiefs  in  all  the  towns, 
who  are  the  king's  assistants  ;  and  all  matters 
of  dispute  or  difficulties  of  any  kind  among  the 
people  come  before  the  king  and  chiefs  of  the 
town.  Whatever  cannot  be  settled  by  this 
council  is  taken  before  the  head  king,  and  all 
the  other  kings  and  chiefs  make  up  the  royal 
council. 

The  kingship  belongs  to  a  certain  family. 


88        A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


But  when  we  speak  of  ii  family  in  Liberia  we 
mean  the  whole  family  connection,  or  clan,  for 
the  natives  live  much  as  the  children  of  Israel 
used  to  live,  many  households  having  some 
one  man  whom  they  all  look  up  to  and  call 
their  father,  the  whole  family  bearing  his  name. 
Any  member  of  this  family  may  be  chosen 
king  by  the  people,  and  if  he  fails  to  give  satis- 
faction his  office  may  be  taken  from  him  and 
another  appointed  in  his  place.  But  the  new 
king  must  be  of  the  same  family  ;  none  other 
can  hold  the  office. 

Some  years  ago  our  king  died,  and  for  a 
time  the  Garraway  people  on  the  beach  got 
along  without  a  king.  During  this  period  they 
discussed  the  question  who  was  the  proper 
person  to  rule  over  them.  Two  men  were 
suggested.  One  was  a  young  man  named 
Pode  Seerc.  But  some  objected  to  him  on  ac- 
count of  his  youth,  and  others  because  he  was 
given  to  drink.  When  Pode  Seere  was  a  boy 
his  father  had  been  king  and  had  been  greatly 
loved  by  all  the  people;  but  when  the  small- 
pox had  swept  through  the  land  he  had  been 
numbered  among  its  victims. 

The  people  had  a  law  that  no  person  should 
cry  when  any  of  the  people  died  of  this  pest, 
for  great  nurnbers  were  perishing,  and  it  was 
said  that  the  mourning  only  made  the  plague 


Peoi>m:,  Languages,  and  Customs.  89 


worse.  They  had  restrained  their  feeUngs,  and 
seen  many  of  their  dear  ones  fall  by  the  terrible 
disease ;  but  when  their  king  died  they  all 
burst  out  in  a  wail  for  him.  They  would  cry 
now,  they  said,  for  they  were  all  dead. 

The  ravages  of  smallpo.x  had  left  tliem  few 
and  weak,  and  a  devil-doctor  had  prophesied 
that  the  tribe  would  never  prosper  until  their 
late  king's  son  should  become  king.  Pode 
Seerc,  his  only  son,  was  at  this  time  quite  a 
lad.  Another  member  of  the  royal  family  was 
made  king;  but  he,  too,  died,  and  his  successor 
was  deposed  because  a  jealous  rival  persuaded 
the  people  that  he  was  always  "  making  witch  " 
and  using  his  influence  with  the  devils  to  de- 
feat anything  they  wished  to  accomplish. 
This  cunning  rival  was  then  made  king,  that  he 
might  exert  his  influence  with  the  devils  for 
good.  This  man  was  king  when  I  went  to 
Garraway,  and  he  died  three  years  ago. 

After  thoroughly  discussing  who  should  be 
chosen  the  next  king,  all  the  chiefs  met  in 
council  to  decide  what  should  be  done.  A 
number  of  them  were  chosen  to  consult  the 
devil-doctor.  They  took  with  them  the  man 
whom  they  had  selected  as  the  most  capable 
man  among  them  to  rule.  The  devil-doctor 
said  that  this  was  the  man  whom  the  devil  ap- 
proved, no  doubt  having  heard  whom  the  peo- 


90 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


pie  wanted.  After  making  several  new  idols 
and  a  number  of  charms,  the  devil-doctor  sent 
the  chiefs  home,  the  monarch-elect  of  course 
not  having  heard  all  the  discussion. 

The  chiefs  reached  home  the  same  day,  and 
kept  their  own  counsel.  But  in  the  night,  when 
all  were  asleep,  a  number  of  the  principal  ones 
went  quietly  to  the  town  where  the  man  whom 
they  had  selected — Kalenky — lived,  awakened 
him  and  his  wife,  and  told  them  that  he  was  to 
be  their  king  and  must  come  with  them  to  the 
royal  house,  which  was  in  another  town.  So 
they  quietly  took  Kalenky  and  his  head  wife 
— Doladdy — and  lodged  them,  as  king  and 
queen,  in  the  king's  house,  built  in  the  town 
where  the  king  always  lives.  No  one  but  the 
chiefs  knew  what  was  done  until  the  next  morn- 
ing. When  the  people  of  Kalenky's  village 
got  up  they  missed  their  fellow-townsman. 
When  they  learned  what  had  been  done  in  the 
night  they  all  sat  down  and  cried  for  him,  as  if 
he  had  been  dead,  for  he  was  a  good  man  and 
they  all  liked  him  as  a  neighbor. 

Certain  ceremonies  need  to  be  performed 
and  certain  sacrifices  offered  when  a  new  king 
is  established.  A  steel  ring  is  put  upon  his 
ankle  as  a  mark  of  his  authority.  This  anklet 
is  a  band  of  metal  which  has  been  beaten  thin 
at  several  points  and  the  edges  brought  to- 


PKorLE,  Languages,  and  Customs.  91 


gather  so  as  form  little  cups  or  bells.  In  each 
of  these  cups  is  a  bit  of  loose  metal,  w  hich 
tinkles  when  the  wearer  walks. 

After  the  proper  ceremonies  had  been  com- 
pleted and  Kalenky  acknowledged  as  king  he 
bc;-';an  to  move  his  boxes  and  other  i)roperty 
to  his  new  home.  The  queen  was  very  sorry 
to  leave  her  old  home,  and  did  not  think  that 
the  honor  made  up  for  all  the  inconvenience 
and  loneliness  she  had  to  endure.  For  weeks 
she  might  be  found  sitting  on  the  floor  and 
crying  and  lamenting  over  the  calamity  that 
liad  befallen  her,  of  which  some  would  have 
been  very  proud.  After  the  rice  was  cut  and 
the  harvesting  done,  the  king's  son  and  nephew, 
who  liatl  lived  bcsitle  him  in  his  old  home, 
moved  from  their  own  village  and  built  near 
him.  He  also  brought  his  other  wives,  and 
after  some  time  he  was  again  settled,  and  his 
head  wife  began  to  feel  at  home. 

Soon  afterward  a  new  king's  house  was  built 
for  him,  where  he  lived  until  the  devil-doctor 
again  declared  a  change  to  be  necessary.  Ac- 
cordingly the  people  rose  up  one  day,  caught 
Pode  Seere,  took  the  ring  off  Kalenky 's  ankle, 
put  it  on  Pode  Seere,  and  declared  him  their 
king,  believing  that  the  fulfillment  of  the  old 
devil-doctor's  prophecy  would  bring  them 
peace  and  prosperity.    A-king  has  very  little 


92 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


authority  among  his  people.  They  are  very 
superstitious,  and  he  can  do  httle  to  im- 
prove the  country  or  introduce  better  modes 
of  living. 

The  king  of  our  neighboring  tribe,  the  Po 
River  people,  was  an  enterprising  man,  who 
had  been  down  the  coast  and  seen  more  of 
civilization  than  most  of  his  subjects.  He  had 
a  large  family  of  sons,  who  were  often  away 
from  home  with  the  traders,  and  would  bring 
back  to  their  father  cloth,  powder,  firearms, 
rum,  and  numbers  of  plates  and  bowls,  with 
which  the  natives  are  fond  of  decorating  their 
houses.  They  drill  holes  in  these  dishes,  put 
a  string  through  them,  and  hang  them  up  in 
rows  back  of  the  waterpot.  Most  of  the  chiefs 
and  principal  men  have  their  houses  orna- 
mented in  this  way.  One  family  in  our  tribe 
thought  to  surpass  all  the  rest.  In  order  to  do 
this  every  man  in  the  family  made  palm  oil 
and  sold  it  to  buy  white  soup  plates  and  wash 
basins,  all  of  which  were  put  into  one  house. 
I  counted  them  once  and  found  five  hundred 
and  fifty,  hanging  in  five  rows  round  the  wall. 
This  is  the  largest  house  in  the  tribe  ;  there 
would  not  have  been  room  for  so  many  on  the 
wall  of  an  ordinary  house. 

This  king  of  Po  River — Yaba  was  his  name — 
instead  of  wasting  the  money  his  sons  brought 


Pkoi'lk,  Langua(;es,  and  Customs.  93 

home,  put  it  carefully  away.  The  plates  and 
basins  he  hung  up  for  decoration  in  his  own 
house,  and  his  quarter  of  the  town  began  to 
assume  a  greatly  improved  appearance.  Every- 
thing was  going  on  quietly,  and  he  was  en- 
couraged to  think  that,  perhaps,  better  days 
were  in  store  for  him  and  that  he  would  be 
able  to  make  further  improvements  which 
would  be  an  example  and  inspiration  to  his 
people. 

But  his  people  began  to  look  at  him  with 
suspicion.  "  What  is  Yaba  trying  to  do  ?  "  said 
they.  "  This  is  not  our  country  fashion.  We 
never  saw  any  man  do  this  before  in  our  coun- 
try." The  truth  was  they  wanted  to  have  a 
share  in  the  earnings  that  the  king's  sons 
brought  home,  and  were  jealous  of  his  fortune. 

This  year  there  had  been  a  great  deal  of 
rain,  and  the  rice  crop  was  poor.  So  they  de- 
clared that  Yaba  had  witched  the  rice.  For 
two  days  they  quarreled  ;  and  on  the  third  day 
I,  with  all  the  young  men,  went  over  to  see  if 
we  could  do  anything  for  the  king.  We  found 
the  people  in  a  great  rage,  the  warriors  gath- 
ered together  in  council,  and  the  king  sitting 
in  the  door  of  his  house  looking  very  sad. 
His  sons  were  sitting  around,  unable  to  do 
anything  to  help  their  father. 

They  gave  us  seats,  and  we  asked  why  there 
7 


94       A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


should  be  so  much  disturbance  among  them. 
The  king  replied  that  the  people  had  accused 
him  of  witching  the  rice  and  making  it  rot, 
and  were  determined  to  give  him  "  sasswood," 
or  else  drive  him  away  from  his  home.  They 
had  taken  the  ring  off  his  foot  and  had  stripped 
hi  in  of  everything  he  had  in  his  houses.  The 
bowls  and  plates  had  all  been  taken  down, 
and  they  had  even  compelled  his  family  to 
give  up  many  things  of  their  own  in  order  to 
atone  for  the  harm  done  to  the  rice  by  his 
witchcraft. 

The  people  had  already  eaten  a  bullock  and 
a  goat  and  were  now  cooking  a  dinner  of 
chicken  soup,  rice,  and  vegetables.  The  war- 
riors had  been  through  the  town  and  caught 
every  fowl  they  could  find  that  belonged  to 
the  king  or  to  any  of  his  relatives.  As  we 
went  into  the  town  I  had  seen  a  man  come 
out  of  a  house  with  one  of  these  fowls  which 
he  had  captured.  Holding  it  up  as  high  as  he 
could,  he  swung  it  around  by  the  neck  in  great 
triumph  until  the  fowl's  head  was  wrung  off 
and  its  body  dropped  to  the  ground.  He  then 
picked  it  up  and  carried  it  to  where  a  number 
of  the  young  warriors  were  cleaning  and  pre- 
paring the  fowls  for  cooking. 

The  king's  head  wife  had  carefully  cultivated 
a  little  garden  of  cassada  near  her  house,  for 


People,  Languages,  and  Customs.  95 

use  on  a  rainy  day  or  in  case  strangers  should 
come  in  unexpectedly.  In  a  few  minutes  she 
could  dig  some  of  these  roots  and  prepare  a 
meal  without  going  to  the  large  farm  a  mile 
or  two  away.  Her  little  garden  was  in  better 
condition  than  that  of  any  of  the  other  women, 
and  the  cassadas  were  large  and  just  ready  for 
using.  These  cruel  people  had  taken  her  cas- 
sadas for  their  dinner,  and  there  the  roots  lay 
in  a  pile  on  the  floor. 

I  stopped  to  talk  to  them  about  their  doings 
and  tried  to  persuade  them  to  let  their  king 
remain  alive  in  peace,  for  they  all  knew  that 
he  was  a  good  man  and  had  not  harmed  the 
rice.  They  did  not  want  to  listen,  and  kept 
up  a  perfect  babble  all  the  time  I  was  talking. 
Some  of  them  said  they  would  put  pepper  in 
the  fire  and  smoke  me  out,  and  one  went  out 
and  brought  back  a  basin  half  full  of  pepper. 
He  set  it  down,  however,  because  he  knew  I 
could  better  .afford  to  leave  the  house  than 
they,  for  they  had  brought  their  fowls  and 
vegetables  there  to  clean  and  cook. 

After  a  time  we  went  back  to  the  king's 
house  to  see  what  could  be  done.  Soon  a 
crowd  of  furious  warriors  came  to  the  house. 
Their  leader  held  in  his  hand  a  whip  of  ele- 
phant hide.  It  was  about  three  quarters  of 
an  inch  thick,  and  had  been  cut  and  twisted 


96       A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

while  soft  and  then  dried.  With  this  slave 
whip  in  his  hand  he  stood  before  the  king's 
house  and  summoned  him  to  come  out. 

The  king  put  on  his  hat  and  came  out.  A 
more  piteous  man  I  think  I  never  saw — a 
king,  yet  treated  like  a  slave  !  The  warriors 
accused  him  of  spoiling  all  the  rice,  his  own 
along  with  the  rest,  and  told  him  that  he  was 
not  fit  to  live  among  them,  much  less  to  be 
their  king.  I  asked  to  be  allowed  to  speak  a 
few  words,  and  they  all  sat  down  while  I 
begged  them  not  to  give  their  king  the  "  sass- 
wood."  If  they  wanted  to  banish  him  from 
their  country  that  would  be  enough. 

The  Po  River  tribe  are  known  as  a  very 
heartless  people,  and  it  is  not  an  uncommon 
thing  for  them  to  put  some  of  their  number 
to  death  after  a  witch  palaver  or  when  any- 
thing else  aroused  their  anger.  They  were 
eager  to  make  another  man  king  ;  and  there 
was  danger  that  they  might  take»this  opportu- 
nity to  put  Yaba  out  of  the  way  by  giving  him 
"  sasswood,"  and,  in  case  the  poison  did  not  kill 
him  at  once,  by  knocking  him  down  and  break- 
ing his  neck  with  a  mortar  pestle.  And  then 
they  would  say  that  he  had  been  put  to  death 
because  he  was  a  witch. 

The  people,  however,  declared  they  were 
not  going  to  kill  him,  but,  because  of  the  harm 


Peotle,  Languages,  and  Customs.  97 


he  had  done  their  country,  that  they  intended 
to  drive  him  away.  They  started  him  along 
the  road  to  the  beach,  and  they  all  followed 
him.  Then  they  told  him  that  he  must  take 
the  beach  road  and  leave  their  country,  never 
to  return.  We  waited  in  town  at  the  king's 
house  till  the  warriors  came  back  and  we  knew 
that  the  king  was  gone  ;  then  we  started  home 
across  the  river,  feeling  that  "  the  tender  mer- 
cies of  the  wicked  "  were  indeed  cruel.  Yet  it 
was  because  of  their  darkness  and  ignorance 
that  these  people  obeyed  the  devil-doctor ; 
and  they  really  believed  that,  somehow,  good 
would  come  out  of  it. 

The  king  started  off  up  the  beach,  not 
knowing  in  what  other  direction  to  go  or 
where  to  find  a  friend.  The  road  led  to  an- 
other town  of  his  own  tribe  ;  and  before  he 
had  gone  far  he  was  met  by  a  man  who  had 
come  out  to  tell  him  to  avoid  the  town  for 
fear  of  his  life.  The  poor  king  was  terrified. 
His  own  people  were  both  behind  and  before 
him.  They  were  now  his  bitterest  enemies. 
On  the  left  the  ocean  barred  escape,  and  a 
thick  jungle  lay  on  his  right.  Night  was  com- 
ing on  ;  he  was  hungry  and  weary  and  had  no 
covering  or  shelter  against  the  long,  chill  hours 
of  the  morning.  He  stopped  to  consider.  He 
was  not  willing  to  die,  and  had  a  horror — as 


98 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


all  human  beings  have — of  being  put  to  death 
by  the  hand  of  man. 

He  turned  aside  into  the  jungle  and  sought 
a  secluded  plaee  for  the  night,  where  he  might 
be  safe  from  his  enemies.  He  sat  down  alone 
in  the  dark  ;  and  after  the  town  had  quieted 
down  his  son  found  him  in  his  hiding  place. 
As  soon  as  day  began  to  break  the  two  made 
their  way  to  the  land  of  the  Garraway  people. 
They  were  received  in  a  friendly  manner  by 
the  king,  and  the  son  returned  to  his  home, 
leaving  his  father  with  the  Garraway  king,  who 
entertained  him  for  ten  months.  During  this 
time  the  son  died,  but  Yaba  was  not  allowed 
to  go  home  to  see  him. 

After  his  people  thought  he  had  been  suf- 
ficiently punished  for  what  he  had  done — he 
had  really  done  nothing  except  try  to  rise  a 
step  above  the  condition  of  his  fellows — they 
allowed  him  to  come  back  to  his  own  town, 
where  he  still  remains,  though  he  is  held  in 
great  reproach  among  the  people.  The  poor 
man  is  so  crushed  by  his  misfortunes  that  his 
only  ambition  is  to  get  enough  to  eat  and  do 
as  little  as  he  can,  that  the  envious  people  may 
not  again  rise  up  and  devour  all  the  fruit  of 
his  industry  and  economy. 

His  sons  were  very  angry  over  their  father's 
treatment,  and  their  minds  constantly  brooded 


PliOI'LK,  LaNCJUAGES,  AND  CUSTOMS.  OQ 

upon  rcvcnt;c.  Tlicy  used  to  say  to  nic,  "We 
no  fit  to  forget  this  ;  when  we  are  men  wc  will 
do  some  of  thein  so."  And  so  the  strife  qocs 
on,  and  nothing;  will  stop  it  but  the  Gospel  of 
love.  Peace  on  earth  and  good  will  to  men 
are  the  weapons  with  which  to  conquer  these 
hearts  and  show  them  that  there  is  a  nobler  life 
for  them — one  that,  instead  of  filling  the  heart 
with  bitterness,  will  fill  it  with  love  for  their 
enemies  and  give  to  them  a  joy  and  satisfac- 
tion they  have  never  found  in  returning  evil 
for  evil. 

The  people  of  Africa  need  many  things. 
They  are  steeped  in  superstition,  sin,  and  ig- 
norance. A  darkness  that  can  be  felt  pervades 
the  whole  land.  They  live  the  lowest  kind  of 
life,  and  yet  hope  to  reach  some  place  of  rest 
after  death.  All  ye  who  know  the  love  of  God 
and  the  power  of  salvation,  shrink  not  from 
obeying  God's  voice.  Whatever  work  in  his 
vineyard  he  has  given  you  to  do,  do  it  with 
your  might,  that  the  light  of  the  glorious  Gos- 
pel of  the  Son  of  God,  who  is  the  joy  of  the 
whole  earth,  may  shine  into  these  dark  hearts, 
and  that  they,  too,  may  rise  up  and  call  him 
blessed. 


loo      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

BURYING  THE  DEAD. 

Peculiar  Manifestations  of  Sorrow. — Preparations  for  Bur- 
ial.— Burying  "Proper." — Gifts  to  the  Dead. — Modes  of 
Burial. — A  Cemetery  Rock  in  the  Sea. — Nymer's  Child. — ■ 
Unwelcome  Spirits. — Mourning  for  a  Chief — Communing 
with  the  .Spirits. — Funerals  without  the  Corpse. — Punish- 
ing a  Dead  Wizard. — Victims  of  Witchcraft. 

ALTHOUGH  the  Africans  wear  charms  to 
keep  them  from  death,  yet  they  die  as 
surely  as  other  people. 

There  are  different  modes  of  burial.  No  one 
dying  a  natural  death  is  buried  without,  first, 
a  great  wailing  and  lamentation,  and  then  a 
dance  and  rejoicing.  As  soon  as  a  person  dies 
a  near  relative — mother,  sister,  wife,  or  daugh- 
ter—  goes  from  house  to  house  and  from  town 
to  town  wailing  and  crying  and  calling  out  the 
name  of  the  dead.  She  does  not  stop  to  speak 
to  anyone,  but  rushes  on  like  mad,  screaming 
at  the  top  of  her  voice,  throwing  herself  in  the 
dust,  and  rolling  on  the  ground ;  then  up  and 
away,  paying  no  attention  to  anyone.  She 
comes  back  finally  to  the  corpse  and  throws 
herself  down  by  it.   And  if  any  person  touches 


BUKYINC;  THE  DKAD. 


lOI 


her  she  is  off  for  anotlicr  frenzied  round.  She 
keeps  this  up  for  several  hours,  until  she  is  too 
hoarse  to  speak  above  a  whisper.  Her  friends 
and  neighbors  come  in  and  sit  around  the 
corpse  and  cry,  until  they,  too,  are  hoarse. 

The  body  is  washed,  dressed,  and  laid  on  a 
mat  in  the  center  of  the  house.  For  the  first 
day,  especially  if  the  death  has  occurred  late 
in  the  day,  there  is  a  solemnity  about  the  sur- 
vivors that  would  indicate  their  deep  sorrow 
at  parting  with  their  friend.  They  believe  that 
the  soul  hovers  around  until  the  body  is  buried, 
and  sees  and  hears  all  that  is  done. 

After  they  have  sufficiently  mourned  over 
the  departed  they  prepare  to  bury  the  body. 
It  is  decked  with  beads,  bracelets,  and  anklets. 
If  it  be  that  of  an  old  person  it  is  furnished 
with  a  pipe.  A  man  has  also  a  hat  or  cap 
placed  on  the  mat  at  his  head, and  a  woman  has 
a  comb  put  in  her  hair.  A  cloth  is  wrapped 
about  the  loins,  and  is  sometimes  changed 
every  day  until  the  corpse  is  buried.  A  num- 
ber of  posts  are  driven  into  the  ground  in  the 
form  of  a  summerhouse  and  covered  with  palm 
leaves,  or  sometimes  with  cloth.  Boxes  brought 
from  the  house  form  a  bed,  on  which  the  corpse 
is  laid  with  all  the  trinkets  that  adorn  it.  A 
waterpot  stands  near  by  with  water  for  the  fre- 
quent washing  of  the  corpse.    When  the  body 


102      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


is  placed  in  the  sunimcrhousc  tlic  yard  is 
dressed  with  tables,  boxes,  dishes,  glassware, 
and  pictures  until  it  looks  more  like  a  variety 
store  than  anything  else. 

The  dancing  then  begins ;  but  the  near 
relatives  never  join  in  the  dance.  If  the  de- 
ceased be  a  man  his  wives  sit  near  him,  the 
favorite  wife  at  his  head.  They  do  not  leave 
him  until  they  are  ready  to  take  up  the  corpse 
and  bury  it.  Then  an  old  woman  comes  and 
takes  the  head  wife  by  the  hand  and  leads  her 
away  to  a  quiet  place.  She  must  not  look 
around  at  her  husband  after  she  starts  away. 
She  is  in  mourning  for  a  month  or  six  months, 
as  the  case  may  be.  She  never  puts  on  any- 
thing but  an  old  blue  cloth.  Not  until  she 
has  a  new  husband  does  she  put  off  her 
mourning. 

Two  women  died  in  our  town,  and  we  went 
to  sympathize  with  the  mourners,  for  they  all 
expect  this.  They  were  not  to  be  buried  un- 
til the  next  day ;  but  all  the  people  were  gath- 
ered there  dancing.  When  any  person  dies 
all  the  town  people  are  supposed  to  refrain 
from  work  out  of  respect  to  the  deceased.  One 
of  the  dead  women  had  a  son  who  had  been 
down  the  coast  several  times,  knew  something 
about  civilization,  and  wished  to  show  the  peo- 
ple that  he  could  bury  his  mother  "  proper," 


Burying  the  Dead. 


103 


as  they  say.  lie  had  a  house  for  the  corpse 
made  of  cloth,  and  had  put  up  two  Hues  on 
wliich  he  had  spread  out  many  yards  of  cloth, 
as  if  to  prove  how  well  provided  for  his  mother 
had  been.  Poor  woman  !  if  she  had  had  some 
of  it  while  alive  she  might  have  lived  more 
comfortably.  Tables  and  boxes  were  set  out 
with  all  kinds  of  trinkets.  The  corpse  was 
dressed  in  the  finest  beads  and  anklets  he  could 
procure,  and  wrapped  in  a  cloth  of  very  good 
quality;  and  a  piiiv  of  spectacles  were  put  on 
her  face — upside  down.  The  people  never 
wear  glasses  in  life. 

This  dutiful  son  had  supplied  rum  for  the 
people,  and  they  were  all  gathered  at  his  place. 
The  town  women  were  dancing,  singing,  play- 
ing the  ^(7/^,  ringing  bells,  and  laughing  in  great 
glee.  They  would  carry  the  bell  into  the 
house,  ring  the  bell  over  the  head  of  the  body, 
and  dance  around  it.  Then  the  leader  would 
talk  to  the  corpse  and  give  it  messages  to  de- 
liver in  the  spirit  world.  The  two  dead  women 
were  not  both  in  the  same  town  ;  and  after  the 
people  had  gone  through  this  performance  in 
one  town  they  would  march  over  to  the  other 
town  and  go  through  it  all  again  over  the  other 
woman.  And  so  they  spent  the  afternoon ; 
and  the  night  was  spent  in  dancing  and  drink- 
ing. 


104  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


Two  goats  were  tied  to  the  house  ready  to 
be  killed  in  sacrifice  the  next  da)',  together 
with  some  fowls.  Human  sacrifices  are  not 
now  offered  in  Liberia  ;  but  it  is  common  to 
kill  a  cow,  and  sometimes  several,  when  any 
of  the  chief  men  die.  When  Paha  died  ten 
bullocks  and  several  sheep  and  fowls  were 
slaughtered.  He  was  not  a  king,  but  a  "  big 
gentleman,"  and  had  the  largest  house  in  the 
tribe. 

There  are  certain  places  set  apart  for  bury- 
ing grounds,  which  have  been  so  used  for 
years.  Near  every  town  is  a  place  overgrown 
with  low  shrubs,  where  little  children  are  buried. 
In  another  place  grown  people  are  buried;  and 
in  still  another  the  kings  and  principal  men. 

In  our  tribe  the  bodies  of  certain  classes  of 
people  are  left  on  a  rock  out  in  the  sea,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  river.  The  people  in  general 
feel  a  horror  at  the  thought  of  being  buried 
in  the  ground,  and  desire  to  be  laid  away  on 
the  rock.  It  is  the  aristocratic  burial  place, 
and  no  one  of  notoriously  bad  character  is 
taken  there,  nor  any  who  cannot  swim.  They 
say  that  when  the  spirits  meet  for  council 
only  swimmers  would  be  able  to  get  away  from 
the  rock. 

A  sacrifice  must  be  offered  for  all  who  are 
taken  there.    The  coffin  is  carried  to  the  top 


Burying  the  Dead, 


105 


of  tlic  rock,  ;iik1  the  corpse  left  to  waste  away 
in  the  sun.  Rice  and  oil  are  placed  near  the 
coffin  for  the  spirit  to  eat  ;  and  usually  plates, 
cloth,  powder  kegs,  boxes,  brass  kettles,  jew- 
elry, and  other  articles  are  placed  by  the  corpse. 
In  proportion  as  a  person  receives  honor  at  his 
burial  so,  it  is  believed,  will  be  his  standing  in 
the  next  world.  All  these  articles — or  the 
souls  of  them,  for  the  natives  attribute  souls  to 
all  things — are  the  possessions  of  the  dead  in 
the  spirit  world. 

How  many  times  I  have  tried  to  persuade 
them  from  burying  on  this  rock!  And  they 
are  beginning  to  see  that  they  ought  not  to  do 
it.  Since  my  return  to  America  my  sister,  who 
takes  my  place  at  the  mission,  has  written  me 
the  following  experience  of  her  own  : 

Garraway,  May  16,  1895. 

Sister  Dear  : 

This  has  been  a  busy  day.  Yesterday  morning  a  cliild 
died — Nymer'sson — at  tlie  waterside  town.  After  school 
I  went  and  called  on  tiie  family.  This  morning  I  heard 
that  they  were  going  to  buiy  on  the  rock.  So  I  went 
down  and  met  Sampson,  the  king,  and  a  lot  of  the  chief 
men.  I  told  them  my  errand.  Wisser  interpreted  for 
me.  Sampson  heard  me,  and  said  that  I  must  tell  Ka- 
lenky  and  the  other  men. 

When  I  told  them  Gray  said,  "  No,  we  will  bury  on 
the  rock.  The  first  people  did  so,  and  we  will  do  so  too." 
Claba,  Tie,  Blay,  Seere,  Newey,  and  others,  said  it  was 
their  country  fashion,  and  they  were  going  to  do  as  they 


io6      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


had  always  clone.  I  told  them  that  it  was  not  a  good 
way  to  do  ;  that  they  had  been  douig  as  the  first  people 
told  them  a  long  time;  that  they  believed  the  devil- 
doctor,  who  had  never  done  them  good  or  told  them 
when  they  were  going  to  die ;  and  that  it  was  time  for 
them  to  leave  the  old  way.  After  some  persuasion  I 
said  to  Nymer,  "  Are  you  willing  that  your  son  shall  be 
buried  on  the  beach  ?  "  He  said  he  was  willing.  I  then 
asked  if  I  might  come  and  read  and  pray.  Those  there 
said,  "  Yes,"  and  seemed  glad. 

I  then  came  home.  It  was  9:30  A.  M.  I  hurried  the 
children  who  were  cooking  the  breakfast,  while  I  selected 
a  reading  for  the  occasion.  Soon  a  man  came  for  the 
shovel  to  dig  the  grave,  and  told  me  that  they  were  going 
to  do  as  I  said  and  bury  the  child  on  the  beach.  A  man 
was  sent  to  tell  me  they  were  ready  to  bury  the  dead 
and  that  I  must  come.  I  took  the  children  with  me  to 
help  us  sing.  We  first  knelt  and  asked  God  to  bless  our 
efforts  to  show  the  people  the  true  light. 

When  we  got  there  they  were  not  quite  ready.  They 
were  findmg  some  things  to  bury  the  boy  with,  and  some 
of  them  were  having  dinner  at  Newey's  place.  The  king 
sent  me  a  plate  of  palm  butter  and  rice,  with  some  fish. 
I  ate  some  of  it.  Then  another  man  brought  me  some 
water  to  drink.  They  found  seats  for  all  the  children 
and  paid  us  every  respect,  even  holding  my  umbrella 
over  me  while  I  ate. 

When  they  were  all  ready  they  called  me  to  read  the 
Bible.  They  were  very  attentive  to  the  end  of  the  serv- 
ice. One  of  our  young  men  interpreted  for  me.  They 
had  their  own  ceremony,  and  killed  a  goat  and  fowl. 
When  they  were  ready  two  men  took  up  the  coffin  and 
carried  it  quietly  to  the  grave.  They  fired  three  guns  in 
the  town,  and  three  more  at  the  grave. 


Burying  the  Dead. 


107 


When  I  speak  to  the  people  so  many  times  they  say,  "  So 
teacher  told  us  ;  we  lielieve  the  word  you  and  teaciiersay." 

I  am  not  lonely,  but  happy,  blessed,  busy,  and  joyful 
every  day.  Your  sister  twice, 

Jennie  Hunt. 

The  Africans  believe  that  the  dead  can  come 
back  again.  If  for  any  reason  they  have  no 
desire  to  see  a  person  again  they  insidt  him 
during  his  burial  so  that  the  spirit  will  never 
care  to  venture  back.  A  woman  who  had  al- 
ready buried  three  children  became  the  mother 
of  twins;  and  they,  too,  died  very  young. 
When  they  were  buried  the  family  said  that 
the  same  children  had  been  coming  back  to 
the  woman  all  the  time,  but  would  not  stay. 
So  the  two  were  buried  in  one  grave,  and  sev- 
eral shots  were  fired  into  it;  This  was  done 
to  discourage  them  from  ever  venturing  back 
to  this  world. 

Another  child  was  born  of  a  mother  who  had 
been  very  sick  for  some  time  before  its  birth, 
so  that  the  child  was  a  delicate  little  thing.  It 
Hved  several  months,  but  was  always  ailing ; 
and  when  it  died  it  was  wrapped  in  a  mat  of 
rushes  and  buried.  Heavy  stones  were  thrown 
on  its  httle  corpse,  and  it  was  told  that  it  was 
never  wanted  back  in  this  world  again. 

Every  tribe  takes  pride  in  having  the  grave 
of  some  chief  located  in  a  prominent  place,  and 


io8      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


so  decorated  as  to  convey  the  idea  that  he  has 
had  great  honor  from  his  people. 

In  1893  oneof  our  chiefs  died, and  "was  buried 
proper,"  as  the  people  say.  He  was  an  old  man, 
and  the  people,  except  his  near  relatives,  were 
not  sorry  to  see  him  die.  They  said  that  he  had 
lived  a  long  time  and  eaten  "  plenty  good 
things,"  and  that  it  was  time  he  should  go  and 
give  some  other  man  a  chance. 

They  buried  him  with  great  ceremony.  A 
house  was  afterward  built  over  the  grave,  with 
a  fence  around  it ;  and  on  the  fence  were  hung 
many  yards  of  good  cloth,  holes  being  cut  to 
make  it  useless  so  that  the  people  would  not 
steal  it.  Three  umbrellas  were  stuck  in  the 
fence,  and  four  hats.  A  rum  barrel  was  set  by 
the  fence  to  show  how  much  rum  had  been 
drunk  in  his  honor  at  the  funeral.  Inside  the 
fence  were  boxes,  a  table,  and  two  good  Ameri- 
can chairs  that  his  son  had  brought  from  sea, 
and  spread  out  on  these  were  looking-glasses, 
plates,  bowls,  basins,  fancy  dishes,  and  glasses 
of  all  kinds.  On  the  pickets  of  the  fence  were 
eleven  powder  kegs,  to  show  the  quantity  of 
powder  fired  off  at  his  funeral. 

At  the  time  of  the  funeral  the  men  dressed 
themselves  in  their  war  dress.  Ever  since  the 
chiefs  death  they  had  been  dancing,  drinking, 
firing  guns,  and  having  a  good  time  generally, 


Burying  the  Dead. 


109 


such  as  they  had  not  enjoyed  for  months. 
They  painted  themselves  with  clay,  some  red, 
some  white  ;  and  some  took  pot-black  and  oil 
and  made  themselves  blacker  than  they  were 
born.  All  this  was  done  to  manifest  their  re- 
spect for  the  dead  man — even  to  firing  their 
guns  at  the  coffin,  until  it  was  divested  of  the 
cloth  with  which  it  had  been  covered. 

Three  bullocks,  several  goats,  and  some 
chickens  were  killed  for  the  deceased  to  take 
with  him  into  the  spirit  world.  All  persons  at- 
tending the  funeral  are  supposed  to  bring  a 
present  to  their  departed  friend.  Dozens  of 
plates,  bowls,  basins,  and  glasses,  and  many 
yards  of  cloth  are  given  to  the  dead.  But  the 
family  do  not  bury  them  all.  They  inform 
the  dead  man  that  they  are  his  and  give  him 
a  portion,  but  the  rest  are  put  away  to  be 
used  for  the  survivors. 

The  third  day  after  this  chief  was  buried  I 
was  in  the  town,  and  I  noticed  that  the  women 
seemed  anxiously  looking  for  something.  I 
inquired  what  they  were  searching  for,  and 
found  that  they  were  looking  for  a  brass  kettle. 
They  said  that  the  dead  chief  had  come  back 
and  told  them  that  in  the  land  where  he  had 
gone  there  was  no  brass  kettle  for  him  to  wash 
in,  and  he  had  come  back  to  get  one.  The 
largest  one  in  the  town  was  brought  out,  a 


110      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

hole  made  in  the  bottom  of  it,  and  it  was  put 
on  the  grave  with  the  rest  of  his  possessions. 
A  hirge  silk  flag  was  raised  over  the  grave,  and 
remained  there  until  it  was  torn  to  tatters  in 
the  wind.  This  flag  had  been  brought  home 
from  a  sea  voyage  by  his  son,  who  had  taken 
it  in  part  pay  for  his  work. 

Quite  frequently  the  kings  and  chiefs  take 
a  bottle  of  rum,  go  to  this  grave,  light  a  fire, 
sit  down  and  drink,  and,  as  they  say,  consult 
the  old  chief  in  regard  to  the  interests  of  the 
people.  His  share  of  the  rum  is  poured  on  the 
top  of  his  grave.  It  is  a  common  thing  for 
them  to  send  messages  to  the  devil  and  the 
spirits  by  this  man.  Especially  in  case  of  war 
or  any  serious  trouble  they  put  great  depend- 
ence upon  the  devils  and  spirits. 

In  some  tribes  many  persons  are  buried  in 
one  grave,  the  remains  of  earlier  corpses  being 
taken  out  and  put  on  top  of  the  new  body. 

Another  strange  custom  prevails  among 
them — that  of  "  burying  "  those  who  die  away 
from  home  or  at  sea.  When  the  relatives  hear 
of  the  death  of  their  absent  kinsman  they 
mourn  for  him  and  go  through  the  regular 
ceremony  as  best  they  can  without  the  corpse. 
The  rude  coffin  is  made — a  box  four  feet  long 
being  sometimes  used  to  "  bury  "  a  man  five 
feet  in  height !    It  is  covered  with  cloth,  and 


Burying  tiik  Dead. 


tlic  usual  offcriui^s  arc  made.  15ut  instead  of 
being  put  in  the  earth,  it  is  set  up  on  a  stand, 
made  of  poles,  near  the  town.  A  small  house 
or  shelter  is  built  over  it,  and  all  the  offerings 
are  hung  on  this  house  or  laid  on  the  top  of 
the  coffin. 

In  case  of  a  person  being  put  to  death  as  a 
witch,  by  drinking  a  decoction  of  the  deadly 
"  sasswood  "  bark,  there  is  no  mourning.  Even 
his  near  relatives  rejoice  that  a  bad  person  has 
been  put  out  of  the  way  ;  for  they  believe  that 
a  witch  will  harm  his  dearest  friend.  In  such 
cases  there  is  neither  ceremony  nor  offering ; 
but  as  soon  as  it  is  dead,  and  sometimes  be- 
fore it  is  really  dead,  the  body  is  dragged  out 
and  thrown  into  the  bushes,  and  a  little  mud 
is  heaped  over  it  to  hide  it  from  view. 

I  once  saw  them  bury  a  young  man  who  had 
died  from  the  "sasswood  "  in  this  way.  Hedied 
in  the  night  and  was  at  once  buried  by  the 
people,  who  rejoiced  that  they  had  found  out 
a  witch  and  put  an  end  to  his  crimes,  which 
had  culminated  in  the  death  of  a  man  in  the 
town.  But  after  he  was  dead  they  feared  that 
the  disgrace  heaped  upon  him  and  his  family 
might  cause  him  to  take  revenge.  So  women 
were  sent  into  the  woods  where  his  spirit  was 
supposed  to  be  lingering,  to  lament  for  him 
and  bring  his  spirit  back  to  town  again,  that  he 


112      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

might  have  a  home  among  them.  Otherwise 
they  feared  that  when  they  went  out  to  gather 
wood  he  might  attack  them  and  take  revenge 
for  the  treatment  lie  had  received.  I  knew 
nothing  of  what  was  going  on  until  I  heard  the 
women  crying  and  saw  them  coming  in  a  long 
line  out  of  the  bush.  When  I  inquired  what 
this  meant  I  was  told  that  they  had  been  to 
the  woods  to  bring  back  the  spirit  of  the  young 
man  whom  tliey  had  put  to  death. 

The  "  bodier,"  or  high  priest,  is  never  buried 
like  other  people.  His  body  is  taken  away  by 
a  few  men  appointed  to  do  so,  and  is  buried  at 
night  under  a  stream  of  running  water. 

A  young  man  who  had  gone  to  the  bush  to 
cut  palm  nuts  was  bitten  by  a  snake.  He  died 
and  received  a  common  burial,  and  all  the 
town  mourned  for  him.  But  after  the  funeral 
the  devil-doctor  said  that  this  young  man  had 
been  a  witch  and  had  not  deserved  such  re- 
spect. He  had  gone  to  the  bush,  not  to  get 
palm  nuts,  but  to  find  "witch  "  with  which  to 
kill  the  king.  The  people  were  so  enraged 
when  they  heard  this  that  they  went  to  the 
grave,  took  away  everything  they  had  placed 
there,  brought  their  offerings  back  to  town, 
and  washed  them.  Then  they  took  up  the 
body  and  dug  a  hole  in  a  swamp  and  buried 
it  under  water  to  show  their  contempt  for  the 


]?UKVING  THE  DEAD. 


"3 


young  niim's  iiiciiiury  because  of  wliat  llio 
devil-doctor  had  accused  liiui. 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  niaiiy  awful  thini^s 
tliat  are  done  aniony  tliis  people.  And  the 
spirit  in  which  they  are  done  is  the  most  hea- 
thenish part  of  it  all.  In  our  own  land,  when  a 
dear  one  has  been  called  away,  when  the  heart 
is  sore  with  grief,  and  the  world,  with  all  it  can 
give,  docs  not  fill  the  void  that  the  departed 
friend  has  left,  one's  heart  is  softened  and  he 
is  inclined  to  listen  to  the  truth.  Even  the 
bystanders  feci  solemn  when  the  funeral  pro- 
cession passes  through  the  streets. 

But,  alas,  how  different  is  a  funeral  proces- 
sion in  Africa,  especially  if  a  person  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  witched !  There  is  no 
hearse  or  wagon,  not  even  a  handcart,  to  bear 
the  dead  to  the  grave.  Two  men  carry  the 
coffin  on  their  heads.  If  it  be  said  that  the 
departed  has  been  the  victim  of  witchcraft 
these  men,  after  starting  off  in  the  direction  of 
the  grave,  will  turn  and  come  back,  sometimes 
running  all  over  the  town  with  the  corpse  still 
on  their  heads.  Everyone  stands  by  in  fear 
to  see  what  will  happen  ;  for  they  believe  the 
spirit  of  the  dead  man  has  taken  possession 
of  the  bearers. 

When  the  two  men  come  to  a  house  they 
will  stop  and  knock  the  coffin  against  it,  start 


114      ^  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

on  again,  and  then  go  back  to  knock  the  coffin 
agahist  the  house  a  second  time.  As  the  houses 
are  low  it  generally  strikes  the  roof  just  over 
the  door.  The  native  house  has  two  doors — 
one  called  the  men's  door,  and  the  other  the 
women's  door.  If  the  coffin  stops  before  the 
men's  door  it  is  believed  that  the  owner  of  the 
house  is  the  one  who  has  witched  the  deceased; 
if  before  the  women's  door,  then  the  wife  is  the 
witch.  After  the  person  is  thus  formally  ac- 
cused of  being  a  witch,  tlie  bearers  continue 
their  way  to  the  grave  and  the  body  is  buried. 

I  have  noticed  that  the  men  always  stop 
with  the  coffin  at  the  house  which  the  people 
have  already  decided  among  themselves  to  be 
the  dwelling  of  the  witch.  Sometimes  they 
take  the  accused  out  of  the  village  and  ad- 
minister the  poisonous  "sasswood  "  drink.  He 
lives  or  dies,  according  as  his  stomach  is  strong 
enough  to  throw  it  off  or  not.  Our  Christian 
young  men  are  doing  a  great  deal  to  destroy 
this  custom,  and  often  take  up  the  coffin  and 
carry  it  quietly  to  the  grave  and  bury  it. 

The  greatest  power  at  work  in  Africa  to-day 
to  overturn  these  heathen  customs  and  bring 
in  a  better  day  is  the  power  of  God  ;  and  ac- 
cording as  we  who  know  the  light  display  it 
before  them  will  the  darkness  disappear  and 
the  true  light  shine  among  them.  The  natives 


BuKviN(;  iiU';  Dead. 


115 


look  to  the  white  man  for  the  better  way  and 
are  aeeepting  the  light.  Wherever  I  have  gone 
among  them,  their  one  request  was,  "  Can't 
you  stay  in  our  town?  we  want  white  man  to 
he  in  our  town  ;  "  and  when  I  have  told  them 
that  I  could  not  leave  my  station,  as  I  was 
alone  and  must  do  the  work  which  had  been 
given  me,  they  have  answered,  "  Well,  can't 
you  write  to  big  America,  and  tell  the  white 
people  we  want  them  to  come  and  live  with  us?" 

"A  call  from  a  land  where  the  beautiful  light 

Is  slow  creeping  o'er  hilltop  and  vale, 
Where  broad  is  the  field,  and  the  harvest  is  white, 

But  the  reapers  are  wasted  and  pale. 

"  All  wasted  and  pale  with  their  wearisome  toil, 
Still  they  pause  not,  that  brave  little  band. 

Though  soon  their  low  pillows  will  be  the  strange  soil 
Of  tiiat  distant  and  grave-dotted  strand. 

"  Tiiere  the  strong  man  is  bowed  in  his  youth's  golden 
prime. 

But  cheerily  sings  at  his  toil ; 
For  he  thinks  of  the  sheaves  and  the  garnering  time, 
Of  the  glorious  Lord  of  the  soil. 

"  But  ever  they  turn,  that  brave  little  band, 

A  long,  wistful  gaze  toward  the  West. 
Do  they  come,  do  they  come,  from  the  dear  distant  land — 

That  land  of  the  lovely  and  blest? 

"  Do  they  come,  do  they  come  ?  We  are  feeble  and  wan, 

We  are  passing  like  shadows  away, 
But  the  harvest  is  white — lo,  yonder  the  dawn  ! 

For  laborers,  for  laborers  we  pray." 


ii6      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

NATIVE  THEOLOGY  AND  MORALS. 

Belief  in  a  Supreme  God. — Devil  Worship. — Native  Rest 
Days. — Their  Treatment  of  Murderers. — IIow  They  Pun- 
ish Marriage  Infidelity. — Effectual  runisluuent  of  a  Thief 
— Talebearers.  —  Native  ISelief  in  the  f'nd  of  the  World. — 
How  the  Moon  Became  Cold. — The  Sky  Will  Fall. — Giv- 
ing First  Fruits  to  the  Devil. 

IN  Rom.  i,  19,  we  read,  "  Because  tliat  which 
may  be  known  of  God  is  manifest  in  thcin  ; 
for  God  hath  showed  it  unto  them." 

To  believe  that  there  is  a  God  who  has 
made  all  things,  who  gives  us  life  and  takes 
life  away,  we  do  not  need  to  be  educated. 
The  heathen,  who  have  no  conception  of  edu- 
cation or  theology,  who  do  not  even  know  one 
written  sign  from  another,  who  have  no  char- 
acters to  represent  ideas,  are  quite  convinced 
of  his  existence,  although  they  call  him  by  as 
many  different  names  as  they  speak  languages. 
The  natives  of  Liberia  call  God  "  Niswa." 
They  believe  he  is  ever  near  and  sees  them 
and  knows  all  they  are  doing. 

They  always  call  upon  him  to  witness  when 
offering  a  sacrifice  or  judging  a  "  palaver  "  (a 
dispute  of  any  kind)  or  a  trial.    In  case  of  trial 


NaTIVK  TuiiOLOGY  AND  MORALS.  II7 


by  drinking  "  sasswood,"  the  victim,  buforc  tak- 
ing;- the  poison,  thus  calls  upon  God,  with  eyes 
uplifted,  to  hear  his  solemn  statement  to  the 
[)eople  :  "  God,  thou  knowest  that  1  am  not 
guilty.  I  have  not  committed  this  crime. 
Thou,  who  J>:no\vest  the  truth,  knowest  that  I 
am  not  the  guilty  party  ;  therefore  I  am  not 
afraid  to  drink  this  '  sasswood.'  I  know  that  I 
might  lie  to  these  people  and  deceive  them, 
but  I  could  not  deceive  thee  ;  and  if  I  were 
guilty  this  '  sasswood  '  would  kill  mc."  Thus 
they  drink  it,  not  fearing  the  deadly  poison, 
but  believing  that  the  all-seeing  God  will 
prove  their  innocence  and  make  known  the 
truth. 

In  case  of  sudden  death  or  any  terrifying 
calamity  the  heathen  call  upon  the  unseen  God 
— Niswa — not  upon  their  idols.  The  word  of 
God  truly  says,  "  For  God  hath  showed  it  unto 
them."  I  have  come  into  direct  contact  with 
the  heathen  and  have  observed  how  much 
confidence  they  place  in  the  Almighty  God. 
Although  in  all  their  homes  they  have  idols 
that  they  worship,  and  although  all  wear 
charms  and  trust  in  their  ^m'-^rrrj-,  yet  when 
danger  or  trouble  comes  they  look  to  him,  be- 
lieving that  he  alone  can  help  them.  This  has 
given  me  new^  light  on  many  passages  in  the 
Bible,  and  I  have  said  of  a  truth,  "  God  hath 


ii8       A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


showed  it  unto  them,"  for  there  was  no  other 
source  whence  they  could  have  received  such 
Hght  and  knowledge. 

The  heathen  arc  not  without  law.  They 
have  no  written  statutes,  no  books  to  which 
they  can  refer  to  settle  their  disputes.  Yet  in 
many  things  they  follow  the  laws  which  are 
found  in  the  Bible  ;  and  the  Ten  Command- 
ments, which  are  the  foundation  of  law  in  all 
civilized  nations,  are  practically  acknowledged 
in  many  of  the  heathen  customs. 

The  idol  worshiper,  or  devil  worshiper,  be- 
lieves that,  if  he  should  turn  away  from  his 
idol  to  the  true  God,  his  devil  would,  out  of 
jealousy,  send  some  affliction  or  calamity  upon 
him  or  his.  He  has  the  secret  conviction  that 
one  God  is  all  he  ought  to  worship,  which, 
however  faulty  in  its  application,  is  really  an 
inkling  of  our  first  commandment — "  Thou 
shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me  " — as  well 
as  of  a  clause  in  the  second — "  For  I  the  Lord 
thy  God  am  a  jealous  God."  The  word  of  God 
tells  us  that  man  has  "  changed  the  truth  of 
God  into  a  lie."  These  people  once  had  the 
truth  ;  and  now  the  lie  of  devil  worship  has 
become  one  of  the  greatest  hindrances  to  their 
receiving  the  Gospel.  Almost  without  excep- 
tion they  will  say,  "  God  way  is  better.  'Tis 
true  these  gi-cc-^rccs  no  do  us  better."  But 


Native  Theology  and  Morals,    i  19 


they  arc  in  constant  fear  of  offending  tlicir 
false  gods,  and  live  a  life  of  terror  trying  to 
please  them,  that  they  may  escape  the  conse- 
quences which  would  follow  their  disobedience. 

The  third  commandment  forbids  the  taking 
of  God's  name  "  in  vain."  The  heathen  have 
great  respect  for  their  gods.  Their  idols  arc 
carefully  handled,  and  their  names  spoken  with 
a  certain  amount  of  reverence. 

The  fourth  commandment  relates  to  the  day 
of  rest  to  be  kept  holy  unto  the  Lord.  In  the 
busiest  time  of  the  year  the  African  heathen 
arc  to  be  found  taking  their  rest  on  certain 
days.  Sometimes  I  have  gone  to  town  and 
found  the  men,  or  perhaps  the  women,  there, 
and  have  asked  why  they  were  not  on  the 
farm.  "  O,"  one  would  say,  "I  am  tired;  I 
am  having  a  rest  to-day."  They  do  not  all 
choose  the  same  day,  but  rest  on  whatever  day 
suits  them  best.  Nobody  ever  thinks  this  cus- 
tom wrong.  But  they  oftener  take  the  fourth 
or  fifth  day  than  the  seventh.  When  we 
tell  them  that  they  ought  to  take  the  Lord's 
day  they  answer,  "Yes,  we  fit  to  do  that,  for 
we  all  have  a  rest  day."  But  the  trouble  is  to 
get  them  to  all  keep  Sunday  together.  Each 
thinks  it  all  right  if  he  keeps  any  day  he 
chooses. 

The  natives  do  not  have  a  day  which  they 


I20      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


keep  holy  unto  their  gods,  except  that  when- 
ever the  devil-doctor  sees  fit  to  make  a  sacri- 
fice to  the  devil  or  the  gods  he  forbids  the 
people  to  go  to  the  farms  or  do  any  kind  of 
work,  sometimes  not  even  allowing  rice  to  be 
beaten  for  their  meal  or  water  to  be  brousfht : 
and  the  people  show  their  reverence  by  leaving 
off  their  daily  work.  It  might  be  said  that 
they  keep  such  days  holy  unto  their  gods, 
though  not  unto  our  God. 

In  our  tribe  a  boy  or  girl  who  did  not  obey 
his  parents  was  considered  a  bad  child,  and 
got  many  a  beating  for  it.  The  heathen  par- 
ent knows  that  his  child  should  obey  him,  and 
expects  the  respect  that  God  appointed  when 
he  said,  "  Honor  thy  fithcr  and  thy  mother." 

The  next  law  of  Moses  is  that  against  mur- 
der. Murders  are  rare  among  the  natives.  In 
case  of  one  person's  accidentally  causing  an- 
other's death,  the  offender  is  banished  and  not 
allowed  to  return  to  his  own  people  for  a  term 
of  years — it  may  be  five,  seven,  or  ten.  Often 
he  never  returns,  having  settled  down  by  that 
time  in  another  tribe.  In  such  cases  the 
stranger  is  kindly  received,  and  often  marries, 
learns  the  language,  and  becomes  one  of  the 
new  tribe. 

If  a  person  is  known  to  have  intentionally 
caused  death  he  generally  flees  to  another  part 


Native  Tiik(M.()(;y  and  Morals. 


121 


of  the  country,  fearing  the  vengeance  of  his 
own  tribe  if  they  should  find  liim.  If  caught, 
there  is  no  mercy  for  hini.  They  sometimes 
give  him  "  sasswood  ;  "  but  if  that  docs  not  kill 
him  they  knock  him  down  with  a  pestle  and 
then  lay  it  across  his  neck,  while  a  man  jumps 
on  either  end  and  breaks  his  neck.  Then  they 
throw  "sasswooti"  over  him,  and  say  the  "sass- 
wood "  killed  him.  Sometimes  they  tie  a  large 
rock  about  the  body  of  the  guilty  man,  put  him 
into  a  canoe,  and  take  him  far  out  to  sea.  Then 
they  capsize  the  canoe,  and  he  sinks  to  the 
bottom. 

The  Po  River  folk,  who  live  across  the  river 
from  our  tribe,  sent  a  number  of  their  young 
men  down  the  coast  to  work  for  the  European 
traders.  While  there  four  of  the  young  men 
died,  and  the  survivors  accused  one  of  their 
number  of  having  poisoned  them.  When  their 
term  of  service  was  over  and  they  returned 
home,  the  families  of  the  deceased  were  so  en- 
raged at  the  accused  young  man  that  they  met 
him  in  the  boat  as  he  landed,  and,  without 
trial,  tying  a  rope  round  his  waist,  took  him 
out  into  the  river  to  drown  him.  Our  tribe, 
who  could  see  what  they  were  doing  from  their 
own  side  of  the  river,  rushed  to  the  spot,  took 
the  young  man  from  them,  and  saved  his  hfe. 

These  heathen,  who  have  never  been  taught 


122      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


from  books  that  it  is  lawful  and  right  for  every 
man  to  "  have  his  own  wife  "  and  every  woman 
to  '*  have  her  own  husband,"  have  in  every  tribe 
a  severe  law  against  adultery.  While  it  is  often 
broken,  yet  the  breaker  is  liable  to  suffer  the 
extreme  penalty. 

Shortly  after  I  went  to  Garraway  a  man  came 
to  our  house  early  in  the  morning,  his  face 
scratched  and  bleeding,  and  his  eyes  bloodshot 
from  the  sand  that  was  still  in  them.  He  asked 
us  to  do  something  to  relieve  his  pain,  and  we 
did  what  wc  could  for  him.  Afterward  we 
learned  that  he  was  suffering  the  penalty  of 
breaking  this  law.  In  fear  of  the  offended 
family  he  had  fled  to  another  tribe  and  spent 
some  years  there,  hoping  that  the  anger  he 
had  aroused  would  pass  away.  Then  he  had 
ventured  home  again.  But  members  of  the 
injured  family,  hearing  that  he  was  coming 
back,  met  him  when  he  landed,  gave  him  a  se- 
vere beating,  and  rubbed  sand  in  his  face  and 
eyes  till  he  was  in  the  pitiable  condition  in 
which  he  came  to  us. 

A  woman  never  receives  more  severe  treat- 
ment at  the  hands  of  her  husband  than  for  the 
breaking  of  this  law,  often  being  burned  with 
firebrands.  They  will  rub  her  body  with  oil, 
stand  her  over  a  fire  with  a  staff  in  her  hand, 
and  hold  a  blazing  torch  to  her  body.  They 


Nativk  Theology  and  Morals.  123 


say  that  unless  she  is  guilty  the  fire  will  not 
burn  her.  If  they  arc  satisfied  of  her  guilt 
they  burn  her  severely — sometimes  until  she 
cannot  rise  from  the  ground.  A  man  is  some- 
times so  offended  by  this  unfaithfulness  that  he 
will  never  live  with  the  woman  again,  and  will 
compel  the  offending  man  to  take  her  and  pay 
him  money  with  wliich  to  buy  himself  a  new 
wife. 

The  eighth  commandment  is  recognized  in 
every  native  town.  But  a  few  weeks  before  I 
left  Garraway  a  woman  had  been  found  steal- 
ing vegetables  from  one  of  her  neighbors,  and 
the  "Ouee,"  which  is  a  secret  society  of  the 
men,  undertook  to  execute  the  law  in  her  case. 

Soon  after  the  town  became  quiet  at  night  a 
company  of  these  men,  with  drum,  cymbal,  and 
horns,  went  dancing  and  shouting  past  our 
house.  They  went  to  the  town  where  the 
woman  lived,  marched  into  her  house,  and  de- 
manded a  goat  for  their  supper.  The  troubled 
husband  caught  the  animal  and  gave  it  to 
them.  Then  they  demanded  rice.  She  had 
to  give  them  all  she  had.  Next  they  wanted 
her  firewood,  and  she  gave  them  all  she  had 
piled  in  her  wood  racks  to  dry  for  the  rainy 
season.  These  articles  they  took  and  went 
away  to  prepare  a  meal  to  be  eaten  before 
morning. 


124      ^  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


But,  wishing  to  beat  the  rice,  they  sent  back 
for  her  mortar,  and  then  for  her  fanner.  Tliey 
needed  hot  water  to  clean  their  meat  thor- 
oughly, and  so  sent  to  her  for  her  pots,  and  then 
for  her  gkbhics  (rests  to  hold  the  pot  over  the 
fire).  Soon  they  needed  a  knife,  then  some 
bowls,  then  salt  and  pepper  for  the  soup. 
When  all  was  ready  they  desired  chairs  to  sit 
on,  and  rum  to  finish  up  the  meal.  All  these 
things  the  woman  or  her  husband  or  friends 
had  to  furnish,  or  it  would  have  gone  worse 
with  them.  By  morning  all  that  was  left  to  the 
woman  was  the  empty  house.  This  was  her 
punishment  for  having  broken  the  law,  "  Thou 
shalt  not  steal  ;  "  and  nothing  "  Quee  "  de- 
manded was  ever  returned.  It  is  in  this  way 
that  they  suppress  thieving. 

The  ninth  commandment  is  against  lying  or 
bearing  false  witness.  A  liar  is  despised  among 
them,  although  they  do  not  always  tell  the 
truth.  They  have  their  notorious  talebearers, 
who  make  the  usual  amount  of  trouble.  Some- 
times the  accused,  to  prove  his  innocence,  will 
drink  "sasswood"  orgo  through  the  trialof  pick- 
ing palm  nuts  out  of  boiling  oil.  In  case  his 
charges  are  proven  false  the  talebearer  often 
pays  for  his  offense  by  having  his  house  torn 
down  or  being  compelled  to  give  a  bullock  to 
the  accused. 


Native  Theology  and  Morals.  125 


The  man  thus  proved  innocent  will  dress 
himself  in  all  the  finest  trappings  the  tribe  can 
produce  out  of  their  boxes  and  make  the  round 
of  the  towns  singing  his  own  praises  and  tell- 
ing all  the  hateful  things  the  talebearer  has 
done  and  said,  until  he  who  has  borne  "  false 
witness  against  his  neighbor"  is  glad  to  make 
humble  apologies  for  the  untruths  he  has  ut- 
tered and  confess  that  he  is  in  the  wrong,  l^y 
the  time  he  gets  the  matter  settled  he  has 
learned  a  serious  lesson,  which  has,  perhaps, 
cost  him  as  much  as  if  he  had  been  in  a  court- 
room and  settled  it  before  a  judge. 

Covetousness  is  a  curse  to  any  people,  and 
many  deeds  that  blacken  the  homes  of  the  Af- 
ricans, as  well  as  our  own  homes,  spring  from 
this  sin. 

The  eleventh  commandment,  given  by  Jesus 
— "  A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  you,  that 
ye  love  one  another" — is  not  found  in  heathen 
lands,  and  it  is  this  want  that  makes  the  dark- 
ness in  their  homes  and  lives.  "  God  is  love." 
But  the  heathen  do  not  worship  God.  This  is 
the  hardest  thing  of  all  for  us  missionaries  to 
bear — the  darkness  with  which  we  are  sur- 
rounded. Jesus  came  to  bring  peace  on  earth 
and  good  will  to  men  ;  but  the  heathen  have 
no  Jesus,  no  peace,  and  no  light.  The  dark- 
ness can  be  felt.  They  are  always  at  war  one 
9 


126      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


with  the  other ;  and  the  only  way  to  better 
their  condition  is  to  preach  Jesus  to  them.  Let 
us  all  work  to  this  end. 

I  had  been  in  Africa  four  years  before  I 
learned  that  the  native  people  had  any  idea 
that  there  would  be  an  end  to  this  world,  or 
that  everything  would  not  always  be  as  it  had 
been.  It  was  not  until  I  learned  the  language 
and  could  understand  them  when  they  talked 
among  themselves  that  I  overheard  the  chil- 
dren talking  about  it. 

One  Sunday  evening  we  were  sitting  on  the 
veranda  of  our  house.  The  moon  was  shin- 
ing brightly.  Many  stars  were  visible  in  the 
sky,  and  the  children  were  talking  about  them. 
I  asked  how  big  they  thought  the  stars  to 
be.  They  didn't  know  exactly — perhaps  as 
big  as  their  fists.  I  told  them  that  they  were 
as  large,  or  far  larger,  than  the  earth  on  which 
we  live.  They  could  not  understand  how  that 
could  be,  and  were  much  interested  in  hearing 
about  the  heavenly  bodies. 

I  asked  them  what  they  had  been  talking 
about,  for  I  had  just  heard  enough  to  make 
me  curious.  They  replied  that  they  had  been 
told  by  their  people  that  the  sun  and  moon 
were  both  hot  alike  at  first.  But  one  day  the 
sun  and  moon  said,  "  Let  us  go  and  wash." 
They  went  down  to  the  water  ;  and  the  sun 


Native  TiiKOLorA'  and  Morals.  127 


UAd  the  moon  to  plunge  in  first.  So  the  moon 
got  into  the  water  and  washed  ;  and  when  it 
came  out  it  was  cold.  Thereupon  the  sun  re- 
fused to  wasli,  for  it  did  not  wish  to  become 
cold.  That  is  why  the  sun  is  hot  and  the 
moon  is  cold. 

It  was  ni\-  turn  to  be  interestetl  now,  and  I 
be^^ged  (ov  another  stor)'.  They  told  me  that 
their  people  said  that  the  woodpeckers  were 
cutting  down  the  trees  of  the  forest,  the  sand- 
pipers counting  the  sands  on  the  seashore,  and 
the  sea  gulls  drinking  the  ocean  dry,  and  that 
some  day  woodpeckers,  sandpipers,  and  sea 
gulls  were  all  going  to  finish  their  tasks  to- 
gether, and  that  then  the  sky  would  fall. 

I  asked  them  who  had  told  them  this.  Their 
fathers,  they  answered,  and  that,  furthermore, 
when  they  heard  the  people  converse  about 
these  things  they  were  very  much  afraid.  I 
told  them  that  they  need  not  fear,  because 
God  held  the  sky  up,  and  it  would  not  fall  till 
he  said  so;  but  that  God  had  said  that  some 
day  this  world  should  come  to  an  end,  and  we 
must  all  be  ready. 

The  next  day  I  went  to  town  and  asked  the 
people  concerning  these  stories.  They  said 
they  knew  from  their  fathers  that  the  sky  was 
coming  down  some  day.  Some,  however,  did 
not  believe  it,  for  it  was  a  long  time  since 


128      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


they  heard  the  story  and  the  sky  had  not  come 
down  yet.  But  the  people  generally  do  be- 
lieve it,  and  I  have  often  seen  them  during  a 
thunderstorm  beat  the  war  drum,  blow  the 
war  horn,  and,  sometimes,  fire  guns  while  the 
storm  lasted.  I  asked  why  they  did  so,  and 
was  told  that  they  were  begging  God  not  to  let 
the  sky  come  down  upon  them. 

It  is  the  law  of  God  that  man  shall  not  con- 
sider all  his  earnings  as  his  own,  but  shall  give 
a  part  to  his  God.  We  read  in  the  Bible  that 
we  are  to  give  him  the  first  fruits  of  all  our 
enterprises.  Some,  in  civilized  lands,  object 
to  this  giving  and  regard  all  they  have  as  their 
own.  They  do  not  feel  under  any  obligation 
to  give  to  the  cause  of  the  God  they  profess 
to  worship. 

It  is  not  so  with  the  heathen  in  Liberia.  I 
have  often  seen  the  people  during  the  time  of 
the  rice  harvest  eating  vegetables  which  they 
consider  very  inferior  to  rice,  while  at  the  same 
time  they  have  the  new  rice  in  their  houses. 
A  native  will  not  eat,  or  even  taste,  of  the  new 
rice  until  the  harvest  is  all  gathered.  Then 
he  will  cook  a  pot  of  it,  put  oil  upon  it,  or  else 
kill  a  fowl  and  offer  it  in  sacrifice  to  the  devil 
whom  he  worships.  He  feels  that  he  has  no 
right  to  eat  the  first  of  the  new  rice  which  he  has 
cut.    So  the  first  fruits  are  given  to  the  devil, 


Native  Tiikolocy  and  Morals.  129 


who  is  really  his  god.  The  young  Africans, 
who  arc  becoming  more  enlightened,  do  not 
feel  it  their  duty  to  give  the  first  to  the  devil, 
and  some  of  them  do  not  give  him  any  at  all. 

If  you  watch  a  woman  closely  when  she  goes 
to  dish  up  the  rice  for  dinner  you  will  see  that 
after  she  puis  the  wooden  spoon  into  the  pot 
she  takes  some  of  the  top  of  the  rice  in  her  fin- 
gers and  places  it  on  the  floor  for  the  devil's 
dinner. 

Thus,  all  untaught,  and  in  their  poor,  blind 
way,  these  poor  Africans  carry  out  the  com- 
mand of  God,  "  Honor  the  Lord  with  thy  sub- 
stance, and  with  the  first  fruits  of  all  thine  in- 
crease." But  their  lord  is  the  devil  ;  and  so, 
because  they  have  "  changed  the  truth  of  God 
into  a  lie,"  God  is  robbed  of  the  honor  due  to 
him. 

I  have  often  noticed  the  old  men  taking 
snuff.  One  will  take  his  snuffbox  out  of  his 
hat,  take  a  pinch  of  snuff  out  of  it,  then  put 
his  hand  down  by  his  side  and  drop  a  little  on 
the  floor  before  raising  it  to  his  nose.  He  was 
giving  the  devil  the  first  of  the  snuff.  His 
heart  tells  him  that  the  first  part  of  all  he  has 
does  not  belong  to  him,  but  to  a  higher  power. 
I  think  that  in  this  respect  they  might  be  an 
example  to  many  a  so-called  Christian. 


130      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


CHAPTER  Vlll. 

INCIDENTS  OF  MISSIONARY  LIFE. 

An  African  Devil's  Den. — Queer  l''uniiuiic. — 'i'lie  Place 
where  the  Devil  Smokes. — A  Shameless  Impostor. — Delicate 
Surgery.— Two  Boys  Struck  l)y  Lightning. — An  Amateur 
Oculist. — The  Kroo  Mark. — A  Garraway  Enoch  Arden. 

ONE  of  the  first  thing.s  we  learned  when  we 
I'eached  Africa  was  that  tlie  people  be- 
lieve in  a  personal  devil.  God  is  "  Niswa,"  and 
they  say  that  he  lives  up  in  the  sky;  but  the 
devil  is  quite  a  different  person.  He  lives  in 
this  world  and  has  many  and  various  homes. 
Sometimes  a  certain  piece  of  bush  where  heavy 
timber  grows,  generally  on  a  hilltop,  is  called 
"  the  devil's  home,"  and  is  not  allowed  to  be 
used  for  any  purpose. 

We  lived  on  the  coast,  and  several  of  our 
towns  were  near  the  beach.  At  a  certain  place 
on  the  beach  stood  a  very  large  rock.  In 
it,  on  the  side  next  the  sea,  was  a  cave 
where  our  people  said  that  the  devil  lived. 
He  had  assumed  the  shape  of  a  tiger.  All 
the  people  lived  in  constant  dread  of  this 
place.  Not  one  of  them  could  be  induced  to 
go  near  it  except  a  certain  devil-doctor,  whose 


Incidents  of  Missionary  Life.  131 


business  it  was  to  attend  upon  this  devil ;  and 
lie  had  taught  them — and  tliey  thoroughly  be- 
lieved it — that  if  they  should  see  the  devil 
they  would  die. 

Miss  Binkley  and  I  often  asked  where  this 
rock  was — there  were  several  large  rocks  along 
the  coast — sa}  ing  that  we  wished  to  visit  it. 
They  told  us  that  it  was  not  safe  to  go  there, 
and  that  even  the  chief  men  and  the  warriors 
never  ventured  near  it,  knowing  that  if  they 
did  they  would  never  be  seen  again. 

One  day  while  visiting  in  the  town  we  in- 
duced two  of  the  young  men  to  take  us  to  the 
rock.  They  went  with  us  until  the  rock  could 
be  seen,  and  pointed  it  out  to  us.  "  There  is 
the  cave,"  they  said,  "  where  his  home  is,  and 
he  is  inside.  No  man  can  go  and  see  him  and 
live."  But  we  said  that  we  had  never  seen 
the  devil,  who  did  not  live  in  the  rocks  in  our 
country,  and  were  determined  to  see  him  now. 
They  were  surprised  that  we  were  not  afraid 
of  such  a  place.  They  begged  us  not  to  go, 
assuring  us  that  there  really  was  a  devil  there, 
and  tliat  we  would  never  come  back.  But  we 
told  them  that  we  did  not  believe  it.  We  had 
never  heard  of  such  a  thing  in  "  big  America," 
and  we  were  going  to  see  if  the  devil  really 
did  live  there.  They  did  all  they  could  tc 
stop  us. 


132      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


But  we  started  on  alone,  saying  that  we 
would  tell  the  devil  we  were  white  women  and 
had  never  seen  him  before.  Surely  he  would 
not  kill  us  just  because  we  had  come  to  see 
him.  So  we  left  the  two  men,  who  were  in 
great  fear  lest  this  was  the  last  time  they  should 
ever  see  us.  For  themselves  nothing  would 
induce  them  to  go  to  such  a  place. 

The  tide  being  out,  we  walked  along  on  the 
dry  sand  till  we  came  to  the  rock.  The  mouth 
of  the  cave  was  not  more  than  four  feet  high. 
We  took  off  our  hats  and  crawled  inside.  It 
was  almost  dark,  for  the  only  light  that  got  in 
came  from  the  small  entrance,  or  sifted  down 
through  a  crack  in  the  top  of  the  rock. 

In  the  center  of  the  cave  we  saw  something 
that  looked  like  a  grave.  At  one  end  a  stake 
about  four  feet  high  was  stuck  into  the  ground, 
and  on  the  top  of  it  was  a  strip  of  white  cloth 
about  a  foot  and  a  half  long  and  two  inches 
wide.  Near  this  stake  was  a  row  of  gin  bottles. 
These  the  devil-doctor  had  taken  there  full  of 
liquor  for  the  devil,  and  after  drinking  most  of 
it  himself  had  given  the  devil  the  rest  by  pour- 
ing it  out  on  the  ground.  He  had  then  set  the 
bottles  halfway  into  the  ground,  to  show  how 
well  he  had  treated  his  friend,  the  devil.  There 
were  twelve  bottles  in  the  row  !  On  the  ground 
lay  a  lot  of  decayed  rice.  This  had  been  cooked 


Incidents  of  Missionary  Life.  133 


and  brought  there  for  the  devil  to  eat.  A  dis- 
mal place  it  was — cold  and  damp  and  dark. 

After  a  thorough  investigation  we  came  out, 
and  found  the  men  where  we  had  left  them. 
They  were  much  excited  over  our  adventure. 
We  told  them  that  there  was  no  devil  in  the 
cave,  and  that  we  thought  that  he  must  have 
gone  away  on  some  business  or  other,  for  we 
had  talked  loud,  had  looked  the  place  well  over, 
and  knew  that  if  he  were  there  we  should  have 
seen  him.  We  described  to  them  what  we  had 
seen,  and  soon  satisfied  them  that  the  devil- 
doctor  was  deceiving  them. 

We  started  back  to  town,  and  on  the  road 
came  to  a  place  where  the  grass  had  been 
cleaned  away  and  a  stake  set  up  with  several 
strips  of  cloth,  such  as  we  had  seen  in  the  cave, 
hanging  on  it  ;  a  pipe  and  some  tobacco  lay 
there,  with  several  half-burned  sticks,  as  if  there 
had  been  a  fire.  The  men  said  that  this  was 
where  the  devil  came  to  light  his  pipe  and 
smoke,  and  that  the  devil-doctor  lit  the  fire  and 
supplied  everything  he  desired.  The  cloth  was 
for  the  devil  to  wear.  The  piece  was  small,  it 
was  true,  but  he  wore  it  in  spirit  and  not  in 
reality,  and  could  make  it  as  large  as  he  liked, 
so  that  a  little  piece  served  his  purpose  as  well 
as  a  big  one. 

We  came  back  to  town,  but  said  little,  for 


134      A  LoNK  Woman  in  Africa. 

wc  realized  Irom  the  manner  of  the  young 
men  that  it  was  no  common  thing  we  had  done, 
and  that  they  were  fearful  of  what  the  people 
might  do  to  them  for  showing  us  the  way. 
Nothing  happened,  however,  to  make  the  peo- 
ple suppose  that  we  had  so  insulted  their  devil 
as  to  visit  him,  the  fears  of  the  men  wore  away 
in  consequence,  and  wc  began  to  speak  of  our 
having  been  to  see  the  devil  and  not  being  able 
to  find  him. 

One  moonlight  evening,  when  we  were  in 
town  holding  service,  I  spoke  of  the  rock,  and 
told  the  people  that  they  feared  the  place 
without  cause,  because  I  had  been  there  and 
had  gone  inside  of  the  cave.  I  then  described 
all  that  was  there,  and  said  that  if  any  of  them 
wished  to  see  the  cave  I  would  gladly  be  their 
guide.  I  said  that  the  devil-doctor  had  been 
telling  them  lies  to  frighten  them  ;  that  they 
must  not  believe  him  ;  that  the  devil  did  not 
want  a  home  in  the  rocks,  but  in  their  hearts. 

Quite  a  crowd  had  gathered  round  me  and 
had  sat  down  in  the  sand.  After  the  service  I 
went  about  to  shake  hands  with  them,  and 
there  was  Kiew,  the  devil-doctor,  himself,  among 
the  rest.  He  had  listened  to  it  all  without  a 
word.  I  shook  his  hand  and  said,  "  You  are 
the  man  that  tells  all  the  lies  about  the  devil, 
and  keeps  these  people  in  fear.    And  you  know 


A  Trio  of  Witch  Doctors. 


Incidents  of  Missionary  Life.  137 


it  is  not  right.  All  those  things  you  have  given 
to  the  devil  are  wasted,  and  you  know  better." 
But  he  only  laughed.  lie  knew  that  I  had 
been  there,  for  he  could  see  the  tracks  of  my 
shoes ;  and  as  no  other  person  at  Garraway 
wore  shoes  he  knew  that  I  was  speaking  the 
truth. 

Ever  since  the  days  of  Jesus,  who  was  the 
great  Physician  of  both  the  bodies  and  souls 
of  men,  and  went  about  laying  his  hands  on 
the  sick,  ministering  to  the  suffering,  and  urg- 
ing the  ungodly  to  repent  and  be  converted, 
have  people  expected  to  see  his  followers  do 
the  same.  The  life  of  Christ  was  the  example 
of  the  Church,  and  wherever  she  enters  the 
suffering  flock  to  her  for  relief. 

I  believe  every  missionary  of  the  cross  in 
heathen  lands,  as  well  as  at  home,  has  a  long 
story  to  tell  of  the  physical  sufferings  they 
have  been  called  to  relieve.  The  people  ex- 
pect them  not  only  to  preach  salvation  for 
their  souls,  but  to  give  them  some  healing  for 
their  bodies.  This  is  one  of  the  first  things 
that  impressed  me  in  Africa.  The  natives  had 
not  been  told  that  I  had  any  medicines,  but 
naturally  thought  that  I  would  understand  all 
their  pains  and  aches  and  be  able  to  give  them 
relief. 

In  a  civilized  land,  where  doctors  and  nurses 


138      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


arc  easily  found,  it  is  not  the  minister's  work 
to  care  for  the  sick  and  dress  the  wounds  of 
the  unfortunate.  But  in  Africa,  where  there 
are  no  capable  doctors  and  where  the  people 
know  so  little  about  surger}',  I  often  felt  it  my 
duty  to  do  what  I  could  for  the  suffering, 
knowing  that  there  was  no  one  else  who  would 
do  more  for  them  or  understand  tlieir  cases 
better. 

Cuts  are  very  common  among  the  natives. 
I  have  had  numerous  cases  of  the  sort  to  at- 
tend to,  and  have  had  considerable  success  in 
treating  them.  One  of  the  king's  sons,  who 
had  gone  to  the  rice  farm  with  his  mother, 
went  off  to  play  with  some  other  boys  while 
she  was  weeding  the  rice.  He  climbed  a  slant- 
ing tree,  but  fell,  striking  a  stake  below  and 
cutting  a  gash  in  his  abdomen  three  inches  long. 
The  intestines  protruded,  and  the  people  were 
much  alarmed,  fearing  that  there  was  no  hope 
for  the  boy. 

They  brought  him  at  once  to  the  mission 
house,  and  laid  him  down  on  the  ground  out- 
side. We  were  busy  in  school,  and  did  not 
see  them  until  one  of  the  men  came  to  the 
door  and  spoke.  They  called  me  outside.  I 
went  and  saw  the  boy.  He  lay  on  the  grass 
quite  exhausted. 

They  told  me  what  was  the  matter.    I  felt 


Incidents  of  Missionary  Life.  139 

very  timid  about  doing  anything  in  a  case  of 
the  kind.  There  was  no  one,  however,  who 
could  do  any  better,  and  the  father  begged  me 
to  do  wliat  I  could,  promising,  in  case  I  cured 
his  boy,  to  allow  him  to  remain  always  in 
school,  lie  looked  upon  his  son  as  dead, 
knowing  that  the  case  was  quite  beyond  the 
skill  of  his  people. 

I  appointed  one  of  the  older  boys  in  the 
school  to  teach  the  rest,  and  then  went  to 
work.  With  a  soft  cloth  and  lukewarm  water 
I  got  the  intestines  back  into  place.  I  sewed 
up  the  wound  with  a  common  needle  and 
thread,  applied  arnica,  and  bandaged  it  well. 
Then  I  brought  him  into  the  house  and  laid  him 
on  his  back.  He  stayed  with  us,  and  with  rest 
and  good  nursing  it  was  not  many  weeks  be- 
fore he  was  well  again.  The  native  way  would 
have  been  to  keep  the  wound  open,  and 
bathe  it  several  times  a  day  in  hot  water. 
This,  of  course,  would  have  been  very  danger- 
ous, for  soon  there  would  have  been  a  badly 
inflamed  sore,  with  probably  fatal  results.  I 
have  found  the  people  very  poor  doctors  in 
treating  wounds  and  cuts,  though  in  treating 
some  other  things  they  do  very  well. 

One  day,  in  a  heavy  thunderstorm,  two  of 
our  mission  lads  were  stunned  by  lightning. 
They  were  in  the  house  at  the  time,  and  were 


I40      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


both  felled  to  the  floor.  One  of  our  mission- 
aries happened  to  be  present,  and  together  we 
picked  them  up,  carried  them  out  into  the 
yard,  and  began  to  bathe  them  with  cold 
water.  Neither  of  us  had  had  any  experience 
with  such  accidents  before,  and  I  feared  that 
perhaps  we  were  not  doing  the  best  thing  pos- 
sible. So  I  ran  and  looked  in  the  doctor's 
book.  The  directions  were  :  "  Put  the  patient 
on  fresh  ground,  turning  the  face  to  the  west, 
and  then  bathe  well  with  cold  water."  I  ran 
back,  and  we  continued  to  bathe  the  boys  un- 
til the  pain  was  gone  and  they  could  stand  on 
their  feet  again. 

By  this  time  quite  a  crowd  had  gathered.  I 
asked  them,  "  Now,  if  this  had  been  in  town, 
what  would  you  have  done?"  They  replied, 
"  Our  people  dig  a  hole  in  the  ground,  put  the 
person  in  the  hole,  cover  him  up  to  the  neck 
with  dirt,  and  then  pour  water  on  him."  I 
told  them  that  that  was  about  what  I  had  read 
in  the  book,  and  that  I  believed  they  knew  a 
good  deal  more  than  they  thought  they  did. 
Our  American  doctors,  who  had  spent  many 
years  going  to  school  to  learn  these  things, 
said  this  was  the  right  thing  to  do. 

At  another  time  some  of  our  boys  went 
to  gather  shells  off  the  rocks  out  in  the  sea. 
While  knocking  these  shells  off  a  rock,  one  of 


Incidents  of  Missionary  Life.  141 

the  boys  struck  a  kind  of  jellyfish,  some  of 
which  spurted  in  his  eye.  He  did  not  say 
much  when  he  came  home  that  day ;  but  the 
next  morning  his  eye  was  swollen  and  red. 
He  told  me  that  this  was  a  very  bad  thing  to 
get  into  the  eye,  as  it  would  sometimes  cause 
the  eyeball  to  burst. 

I  went  to  the  doctor's  book  to  learn  what  to 
do.  The  book  said  that  in  many  cases  one  of 
the  best  things  for  the  eye  was  spittle.  It 
added  that,  although  some  physicians  were  too 
polite  to  spit  in  the  eye  of  a  patient,  but 
would  prescribe  some  preparation  not  half  so 
good,  yet  saliva  was  often  best. 

I  thought  this  a  very  simple  remedy  for  so 
serious  a  case,  for  the  boy  seemed  really  in 
danger  of  losing  his  sight.  I  thought  that  his 
mother  might  perhaps  know  of  something  that 
would  be  better;  so  I  sent  him  to  town  to  see 
whether  he  could  not  get  relief  from  some  one 
who  understood  the  working  of  this  poison. 
He  soon  came  back  with  three  palm  nuts  in 
his  hand.  I  asked  him  what  his  mother  said. 
He  answered  that  she  had  chewed  up  a  palm 
nut,  then  spat  it  all  out  and  spat  in  his  eye. 
She  had  given  him  these  three  palm  nuts  and 
told  him  to  have  somebody  do  the  same  thing 
for  him  two  or  three  times  a  day.  I  did  so, 
and  his  eye  was  soon  well. 
10 


142      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

These  things  showed  me  that  knowledge  is 
not  all  confined  to  the  learned,  and  that  in 
some  things  the  heathen  are  as  well  posted  as 
the  civilized  and  educated. 

The  people  on  the  coast  of  Liberia  have  an 
ancient  custom  of  putting  a  mark  on  the  mid- 
dle of  the  forehead.  It  is  not  for  decoration, 
as  similar  marks  are  with  many  heathen  peo- 
ples. Among  uncivilized  peoples  who  wear 
no  clothes  it  is  a  very  general  custom  to  tattoo 
their  bodies.  Some  of  our  African  people,  in- 
deed— especially  those  who  are  not  very  black 
and  on  whom  the  marks  show  well — have  their 
bodies  elaborately  decorated  ;  and  some  of  our 
young  men  who  have  worked  for  Europeans 
and  received  an  English  name  have  this  name 
tattooed  upon  their  chests. 

But  the  mark  on  the  forehead  is  known  by 
all  the  European  traders  as  the  "  Kroo  " 
mark,  and  when  they  find  a  man  with  this 
mark  they  know  he  is  from  the  Kroo  coast. 
This  custom  has  grown  out  of  slavery,  and  is 
a  sign  that  these  people  are  not  slaves,  but 
free,  and  were  born  in  a  free  country. 

This  indelible  mark  is  made  in  early  child- 
hood, by  cutting  several  small  gashes  with  a 
knife  in  the  skin  until  it  bleeds  well,  and  then 
rubbing  into  it  a  mixture  of  oil  and  pot  soot. 
When  it  heals  it  is  black  and  cannot  be  washed 


Incidknts  of  Missionary  Life.  143 


off.  1  think  it  a  vcr)'  t^ood  thiiii;-  in  that  land 
where  slavery  is  so  common  and  where  the 
people  mix  with  all  kinds  of  strangers;  and  it 
has  been  the  means  of  saving  some  of  them 
from  being  carried  away  into  slavery. 

Some  time  before  I  arrived  at  Garraway  a 
number  of  these  Kroo  boys  had  gone  down 
the  coast  to  work.  One  of  them,  named  Tub- 
bah,  had  been  sent  in  a  surfboat  with  some 
other  boys  to  a  distant  place.  While  on  their 
way  they  got  into  a  quarrel,  and  the  others 
threatened  the  life  of  this  young  man.  Hav- 
ing none  to  befriend  him,  he  jumped  into  the 
sea  and  swam  ashore  ;  and  the  people  on  the 
beach  seized  him  and  sold  him  to  a  slaveholder 
in  the  far  interior. 

His  wife  and  friends  at  Garraway  waited 
anxiously  for  some  word  from  him,  but  heard 
nothing,  until  after  several  years  they  gave  up 
rdl  hopes  of  ever  seeing  him  again  and  mourned 
for  him  as  dead.  His  wife  was  given  to  an- 
other man. 

After  six  years  had  passed  word  came  home 
that  Tubbah  was  still  alive  and  would  soon  re- 
turn. His  master  had  kept  him  away  from  the 
coast  all  these  years,  fearing  lest  he  should  be 
recognized  by  his  Kroo  mark.  But  at  this  time 
he  had  to  come  down  for  some  purpose  and 
thought  it  would  be  safe  to  bring  Tubbah  along. 


144      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

While  they  were  on  tlie  coast  an  EngHsh 
gentleman  saw  him  and  asked  him  where  he 
came  from,  who  he  was,  and  how  he  came  to 
be  there  with  that  mark  upon  his  face.  Tub- 
bah  told  his  story.  The  Englishman  then 
sent  for  his  master  and  told  him  that  he  could 
not  take  a  free  man  home  with  him,  that  Tub- 
bah  was  his  own  Kroo  boy  and  he  knew  where 
his  home  was,  and  was  going  to  take  him  to 
his  own  people.  The  master  could  make  no 
reply,  for  he  knew  that  he  had  enslaved  a  free 
man. 

So  the  Englishman  kept  Tubbah  and  sent 
him  home  to  Garraway  by  the  next  steamer. 
I  saw  him  as  he  walked  up  the  little  road  that 
went  past  our  house  into  the  town,  with  the 
people  crowding  around  to  welcome  him  home 
again.  He  spent  several  days  among  them. 
Soon  he  learned  that  his  wife  had  been  given 
to  another  man  and  was  living  in  another  town 
twenty  miles  distant. 

After  a  short  time  he  went  to  see  her.  It  is 
not  a  custom  in  Africa  to  rap  on  the  door  be- 
fore entering,  but,  without  an  invitation,  the 
visitor  walks  in  and  sits  down.  Tubbah  found 
the  house  of  his  wife  and  walked  in  and  sat 
down.  She  and  her  present  husband  were  as- 
tonished to  see  one  whom  they  had  believed  to 
be  dead  ;  but  Tubbah  was  very  pleasant,  and 


Incidents  of  Missionary  Life.  145 

thanked  the  man  for  being  kind  to  his  wife  and 
takin<^'  care  of  her  for  him  during  his  absence. 
Then  he  turned  to  his  wife  and  said,  "  Dwady, 
I  have  come  for  you.  Come  on  and  let  us  go 
home." 

She  was  quite  cross  with  liim  at  first,  and 
acted  as  if  very  much  vexed  at  her  old  hus- 
band for  coming  after  her.  But  in  a  few  days 
she  said  to  her  second  husband,  "  Well,  I  have 
made  up  my  mind  to  go  back  to  Tubbah,  and 
I  shall  have  to  say  good-bye  to  you." 

So  she  took  her  son  and  started  off  to  her 
old  husband. 

Tubbah,  of  course,  was  very  glad  and  the 
other  man  very  sorry,  for  he  had  but  one  wife. 
He  urged  her  to  stay  ;  but  she  said  she  must 
go.  "  Is  it  possible,"  he  said,  "  my  good  wife 
is  going  to  leave  me?"  and  sat  down  and 
cried  when  she  departed.  I  have  visited  Tub- 
bah and  his  wife  since  they  commenced  keep- 
ing house  again.  They  are  living  very  happily 
in  one  of  our  towns. 


146      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

VISITING  NEIGHBORING  TRIBES. 

Visit  to  the  Po  River  People. —First  Ride  in  a  Canoe. — 
"Yem  Plu  Deen  E  Oil."— A  Talkative  Meeting. —A 
Trying  Night. — Up  River  to  Peddie. — Caught  in  the 
Rain. — Peter's  Conversion. 

T^HE  tribe  nearest  to  us  was  the  Po  River 


Every  tribe  of  any  size  is  divided  into  two 
sections,  living  several  miles  apart.  This  is 
done  that  tliey  may  be  better  able  to  control 
their  land  and  may  more  easily  attend  to  their 
farming.  If  they  all  lived  in  one  place  some 
would  be  obliged  to  go  too  great  a  distance  to 
their  plantations. 

The  Po  River  tribe  occupied  a  long,  narrow 
tract  of  land  on  the  coast.  The  principal 
towns,  where  the  king  lived,  were  fifteen  miles 
up  the  coast.  The  smaller  part  of  the  tribe 
lived  in  three  towns,  just  across  the  river,  and 
within  plain  sight  of  our  house. 

We  had  been  in  Garraway  but  a  short  time 
when  several  young  men  who  were  anxious  to 
accept  Christianity  and  attend  the  school  went 
with  us  one  Sunday  morning  to  hold  service  in 


Visiting  NiiiciinoRiNd  Tribes.  147 


the  towns  across  the  river.  We  were  a  com- 
pany of  thirty,  and  all  had  to  cross  in  a 
canoe. 

It  was  my  first  canoe  ride,  and  I  confess  that 
I  felt  a  little  shaky.  As  the  sand  was  all  wet 
one  of  the  men  took  me  in  his  arms,  carried 
me  to  the  canoe,  and  set  me  down  on  a  small 
box  they  had  brought  for  me  to  sit  on. 

At  every  move  I  made  the  canoe  tipped 
threateningly;  but  when  a  number  of  the 
others  got  in  they  were  so  much  at  home  there 
that  their  confidence  gave  me  courage,  and  I 
began  to  breathe  more  easily.  The  canoe  was 
of  medium  size — about  two  feet  in  breadth 
and  twenty  feet  long.  After  we  had  crossed 
one  of  the  party  paddled  back  for  the  rest. 

When  they  were  all  over  we  started  for  the 
town.  We  marched  along  one  after  the  other, 
and  as  all  the  young  men  were  dressed  in 
their  best  clothes  they  looked  quite  respectable 
to  my  eyes.  It  was  very  encouraging  to  notice 
the  difference  between  them  and  their  almost 
naked  fellows  we  had  left  behind  us. 

As  we  neared  the  town  the  people  came  out 
to  see  who  were  coming.  They  had  seen  some 
of  their  own  young  men  dressed  in  civilized 
clothing;  and,  since  they  knew  all  the  young 
men  who  were  with  me,  they  were  not  so  much 
surprised  at  their  appearance.    They  knew. 


148      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


moreover,  that  there  were  white  women  at  the 
mission  in  Garraway,  for  many  of  the  Po  River 
men  had  been  to  call  on  us.  So  now  their 
first  thought  was  that  these  young  men  were 
bringing  one  of  the  white  women  over  to  see 
them. 

When  they  discovered  me  among  the  rest 
they  began  to  call  out,  "  Yem  plu  deen  e  oh  ! 
Yem  plu  deen  e  oh !  Koo  deen  e  oh  !  Koo 
deen  e  oh!  "  The  word  "koo"  is  their  word 
for  both  "  devil  "  and  "  white  people."  When 
they  first  saw  a  white  person  they  thought  it 
was  the  devil  or  a  spirit,  and  so  they  call  the 
white  people  "  koo."  They  also  call  us  "  yem 
plu,"  meaning  "  white  man." 

Soon  every  person  in  the  town  heard  the 
cry  and  came  out  to  see  the  great  sight,  for  no 
white  woman  had  ever  been  there  before. 
But  few  of  the  people,  outside  of  the  young 
men,  had  ever  seen  a  white  person.  Many  of 
the  women,  as  soon  as  they  saw  I  was  white, 
ran  away  and  kept  at  a  safe  distance  until  I  was 
gone.  Some  of  the  women  and  all  the  men 
came  and  shook  hands  with  me  and  were  quite 
friendly.  But  the  children  were  all  afraid,  and 
many  of  them  ran  crying  to  their  mothers,  and 
remained  in  terror  until  I  left  the  town. 

An  old  blind  woman  came  out  of  her  little 
hut  as  I  passed  by  and  asked  to  put  her  hands  on 


Visiting  Nkiciihorinu  Tkibks.  149 


mc.  She  felt  my  hands  and  face,  my  hair,  and 
all  my  clothes,  and  then  said,  "  I  see  something 
I  never  see  before."  She  told  those  staiidin<r 
by  that  she  had  never  expected  to  live  to  meet 
a  white  person,  and  that  God  had  been  good  to 
let  her  live  to  see  that  day.  After  a  good  meet- 
ing in  the  three  towns  we  returned  to  Garra- 
way. 

I  had  taken  a  lunch  with  me,  for  I  knew  I 
should  not  be  home  in  time  for  a  noon  dinner. 
We  crossed  over  to  our  side  of  the  river,  and 
while  the  young  men  were  gone  to  get  their 
lunch  I  sat  down  under  a  tree  to  eat  mine. 
Soon  we  were  ready  for  a  service  among  our 
own  people.  We  held  three  services  in  the 
towns,  the  young  men  helping  along  very 
well.  They  all  sang,  while  some  prayed  and 
spoke. 

At  another  time  I  visited  the  other  towns  of 
the  Po  River  people.  The  king's  son  had 
urged  me  to  go,  and  said  that  he  would  take 
me.  That  meant  only  that  he  would  go  with 
me,  for  I  should  be  compelled  to  walk  all  the 
way.  The  towns  were  fifteen  miles  away, 
with  one  village  about  the  middle  of  the 
journey. 

We  started  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  at  half  past  ten  we  reached  the  half- 
way place.    The  king,  an  old  man,  was  there 


150      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

and  glad  to  meet  me,  and  at  once  set  to  work 
to  get  a  meal  ready  for  us.  This  is  character- 
istic of  the  natives  of  Liberia.  They  know 
that  traveling  is  difficult,  and  expect  a  traveler 
to  be  hungry,  and  so,  without  saying  anything, 
they  provide  something  to  eat. 

I  was  very  thirsty,  for  we  had  walked  in  the 
hot  sun  along  the  sandy  beach.  They  gave  me 
water,  but  it  was  very  bad,  and  after  I  had  swal- 
lowed it  I  turned  very  sick.  They  furnished 
me  with  a  mat  and  a  blanket  to  make  a  bed 
with,  and  a  stick  of  wood,  such  as  they  use  for 
a  pillow. 

They  had  a  small  house,  intended  for  stran- 
gers. It  took  the  place  of  the  spare  bedroom 
in  one  of  our  American  houses  very  well.  It 
was  built  of  the  native  materials,  but  was  set 
on  posts  two  feet  above  the  ground,  and  had  a 
floor  of  platted  bamboo.  Here  I  lay  down  and 
had  a  rest  and  something  to  eat.  This  house 
was  much  the  most  comfortable  in  the  town, 
since  there  was  no  fire  in  it.  But  the  door 
was  very  small,  and  so  low  that  I  had  to  bend 
almost  double  to  get  inside. 

About  two  o'clock  we  started  on  up  the 
coast  to  the  big  town.  The  road  seemed  long, 
for  I  was  weak  and  the  sun  was  hot.  I  should 
hardly  have  arrived  before  dark  had  not  the 
king's  son  allowed  me  to  take  his  arm  so  as  to 


VisiTiNc;  Nki(.;iii;()Rinc;  Triiiks.  151 


hell)  nic  alontj.  VVlicii  wc  reached  the  town 
the  people  were  out  on  the  farms,  and  we  rested 
until  they  returned.  A  few  of  the  old  people 
and  some  women  had  been  left  at  home,  but 
they  were  not  numerous  enout^h  to  be  tire- 
some. 

But  when  the  people  came  home  there  was 
tremendous  excitement  amony;  them  at  seeing 
a  white  person  in  town  !  They  had  never  seen 
the  like  before.  They  crowded  around,  talk- 
ing at  the  top  of  their  voices — some  afraid, 
others  crowding  so  close  that  it  was  not  at  all 
comfortable  on  so  warm  a  day. 

At  dinner  time  they  placed  before  us  great 
plates  of  palm  butter,  rice,  and  fish.  Several 
of  the  people  had  killed  fowl,  and  each  felt 
that  I  must  eat  some  of  the  food  which  he  had 
brought.  Of  course  I  could  eat  very  little  of 
what  was  set  before  me,  for  each  plate  con- 
tained much  more  than  enough  for  a  whole 
meal,  but  I  had  to  taste  it  all.  One  of  them 
would  say,  "  Now,  I  am  going  to  eat  what  is 
left,  and  by  and  by  I  shall  be  white  too!" 
One  of  the  women  standing  by  said,  "  Give  me 
the  water  left  in  the  glass  you  have  been  drink- 
ing out  of.  I  will  drink  it,  and  it  will  cause  me 
to  have  a  white  child  !  " 

After  dinner  I  started  to  hold  a  meeting.  I 
had  brought  one  of  my  boys  along,  and  we  two 


15^      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


began  to  sing.  The  people  were  much  inter- 
ested  and  listened  well,  but  as  soon  as  we 
stopped  singing  and  I  began  to  talk  they  all 
began  to  talk  too,  and  it  was  impossible  to  be 
heard.  They  all  talked  at  once,  and  made  so 
much  noise  that  we  sang  again  to  get  them  to 
be  quiet. 

But  there  were  so  many  of  them,  and  they 
were  so  very  unruly,  that  even  the  king's  son 
could  not  get  a  hearing  for  himself,  or  be  heard 
when  he  interpreted  what  I  said.  It  was  so 
dark  that  I  did  not  have  a  chance  to  read.  We 
tried  twice  to  get  away  from  the  crowd,  think- 
ing that  perhaps  we  should  be  able  to  do  bet- 
ter if  we  did  not  have  so  many  around ;  but 
they  all  followed. 

I  was  tired  out  with  my  day's  walk,  and  my 
head  was  aching  from  the  terrible  noise  ;  so  I 
inquired  where  I  should  sleep,  and  they  said, 
"  In  the  king's  house."  I  told  them  that  I  was 
going  to  bed,  since  they  would  not  listen  to 
what  I  wanted  to  tell  them.  Then  they  begged 
me  not  to  go,  saying  that  there  were  some  who 
would  like  to  hear,  if  the  rest  would  only  keep 
quiet. 

I  went  into  the  king's  house,  and  a  few  fol- 
lowed me.  I  asked  them  to  shut  the  door  and 
not  let  the  rest  enter.  They  shut  the  door, 
but  those  outside  kept  knocking  at  it  until 


Visiting  Neighboring  Tribes.  153 


it  had  to  be  opened  to  let  some  of  them  in. 
Then  others  would  come,  and  they  also  had  to 
be  let  in,  so  long  as  there  was  any  room. 

Those  in  the  house  begged  me  to  talk  to 
them.  We  had  no  lamp,  our  only  light  com- 
ing from  the  fire  that  burned  at  one  side  of  the 
room.  We  all  sat  down  on  the  floor,  and  for 
an  hour  and  a  half  I  talked  to  them,  until  I 
was  so  tired  I  could  not  tell  another  story.  I 
then  told  them  to  go  out  and  let  me  go  to  sleep. 
But  they  would  not  go  as  long  as  I  was  to  be 
seen. 

Some  of  the  young  men  went  to  work  to  fix 
me  up  a  bed.  They  knew,  somehow,  that 
white  people  did  not  sleep  on  the  floor.  They 
found  a  few  pieces  of  plank  that  had  been 
nailed  together  in  the  shape  of  a  door  about 
four  feet  long.  These  they  brought  in  and  put 
down  not  far  from  the  fire,  blocking  them  up 
from  the  floor  about  four  inches.  Over  them 
they  placed  a  mat ;  and  the  king  brought  out 
his  old  coat,  that  had  served  many  years  and 
was  almost  stiff  with  dirt  and  grease.  He  sug- 
gested that  this  would  make  a  good  pillow.  It 
was  folded  up  and  laid  on  one  end.  A  blanket 
was  found  for  a  covering,  and  the  bed  was 
ready. 

I  said  nothing,  for  I  did  not  think  that  they 
would  be  likely  to  make  it  any  better.    So  I 


154      ^  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


spread  my  handkerchief  over  the  old  coat  and 
Jay  down,  dressed  as  I  was.  I  lay  very  still  for 
a  time,  in  hope  they  might  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  I  was  asleep,  and  be  induced  to 
go  out  and  let  the  house  cool  off,  for  it  was 
late,  and  I  knew  I  should  not  get  much  rest  if 
the  fire  was  not  soon  allowed  to  die  out.  The 
natives  do  not  like  to  sleep  without  a  fire  for 
a  light  ;  but  when  they  all  fall  asleep  it  gets  a 
chance  to  go  down  somewhat,  until  some  mem- 
ber of  the  family  gets  up  and  feeds  it  again. 

Soon  the  people  went  to  bed.  But  I  was 
very  uncomfortable.  My  pillow  was  abomina- 
ble. I  pushed  it  aside  and  put  in  its  stead  a 
stick  of  wood  that  was  lying  near.  There  was 
a  bunch  of  palm  nuts  on  the  floor  about  four 
yards  from  my  head.  These  the  rats  were 
nibbling  most  of  the  night.  I  drove  them 
away  several  times,  but  there  was  a  large  fam- 
ily of  them,  and  they  were  bound  to  have  their 
share  of  the  nuts. 

The  mosquitoes  were  most  unmerciful,  not- 
withstanding the  house  was  full  of  smoke. 
Moreover,  the  bedstead  was  several  inches  too 
short  at  both  ends.  I  tried  in  vain  to  find  a 
comfortable  position,  and  as  it  drew  near  morn- 
ing I  had  not  yet  had  even  a  .short  nap.  1 
drew  the  mat  off  the  bedstead  they  had  fixed 
up  for  me,  and  lay  down  on  the  floor  Avith  the 


Visiting  Neighboring  Tribes. 


155 


rest  of  the  people,  for  they  all  seemed  to  be 
more  comfortable  than  I. 

The  chickens  on  the  roost  at  the  far  side  of 
the  fire  gave  the  alarm  when  it  was  time  to 
rise.  I  rose  quickly,  took  some  water  in  a 
cup,  and  went  outside  to  wash  my  face.  I 
poured  a  little  of  the  water  into  ni)'  hand, 
dashed  it  over  niy  face,  wiped  my  face  with 
my  handkerchief,  combed  up  my  hair,  and 
started  out  to  see  the  town.  A  crowd  of  the 
people  again  gathered  around  me,  but  they 
were  more  ready  to  listen  than  in  the  evening ; 
and  we  had  a  good  meeting. 

After  breakfast  we  started  for  home,  and 
found  the  people  of  the  middle  town  waiting 
for  us.  They  had  all  stayed  at  home  from 
the  fields  that  day  to  see  me  when  I  passed. 
We  had  dinner  and  some  cocoanut  water  there, 
and  a  good  meeting;  and  we  went  on  to  the 
mission  feeling  that  there  was  no  place  like 
home. 

At  certain  seasons  of  the  year  our  people 
are  accustomed  to  catch  a  quantity  of  fish  in 
the  river  with  a  drift  net  ;  and  our  mission 
boys  were  anxious  to  learn  the  art,  that  they, 
too,  might  get  some  fresh  fish.  I  knew  it 
would  be  a  good  thing  for  us,  and  would  be  a 
great  help  toward  providing  for  the  house. 

So  I  took  two  of  the  boys  one  day  and 


156      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

started  in  a  canoe  up  the  river  to  Peddie,  to 
buy  a  net  ;  for  the  Pcddies  made  these  nets  and 
our  people  did  not.  We  started  early  in  the 
afternoon,  knowing  that  it  was  not  many  miles 
and  that  we  ought  to  be  able  to  get  there  in- 
side of  two  hours  if  all  went  well. 

One  of  the  boys  had  been  to  Peddie  and 
thought  he  knew  the  way.  And  he  did  know 
the  one  they  formerly  used.  We  followed  this 
old  route  for  some  distance,  until  we  came  to 
a  tree  lying  across  the  river.  There  was  no 
way  to  pass  around  it.  W^e  shoved  up  along- 
side and  got  out  on  the  log  while  the  boys 
lifted  the  canoe  over  the  obstruction.  Then 
we  got  in  again  and  pulled  on  up  the  river. 

It  had  rained  in  the  morning  and  was  threat- 
ening when  we  left  home  ;  and  now  the  rain 
began  to  fall.  Soon  we  came  to  another  fallen 
tree.  This  one  was  very  large,  and  we  did  not 
know  what  to  do.  We  were  all  wet  from  the 
rain  and  much  water  had  come  into  the  canoe, 
so  that  we  were  very  uncomfortable. 

We  looked  around,  and  near  the  edge  of  the 
river  we  saw  a  large  limb  that  we  thought 
might  be  cut  off  to  permit  the  passage  of  the 
canoe.  I  got  out  and  stood  on  the  log  while 
the  two  boys  with  a  cutlass  hewed  off  the 
limb.  We  had  no  ax  and  the  cutlass  was  very 
small — somewhat  like. a  large  knife. 


Visiting  Neighboring  Tribes.  157 

The  boys  got  the  canoe  through  under  the 
log  while  I  stood  upon  it  and  shivered  in  the 
rain.  We  started  on  again,  but  found  signs 
that  the  road  had  not  been  used  for  some 
time.  We  worked  our  way  througli  the  over- 
hanging bushes,  and  soon  came  to  another  small 
log.  This  we  clambered  over  without  cutting 
and  shoved  our  way  on  toward  the  town,  fear- 
ing lest  we  should  have  to  stay  in  the  bush 
overnight ;  for  it  was  getting  toward  evening. 

But  just  before  dark  we  came  near  to  the 
town.  The  place  where  we  landed  was  not 
the  regular  landing  place,  but  it  was  the  best 
place  for  those  coming  by  the  old  road.  We 
were  as  wet  as  could  be  with  sitting  in  the  un- 
covered canoe.  The  place  was  a  swamp.  The 
boys  were  too  cold  and  tired  to  do  much  to 
help  me  ;  but  we  heard  some  one  in  the  bushes, 
who  came  when  we  called  to  him  and  carried 
me  through  the  mud  and  water  until  we 
reached  a  path  that  led  to  the  town. 

This  man  took  us  to  the  king's  house,  which 
was  warm  and  dry,  though  full  of  smoke.  I 
was  so  very  wet  and  cold  that  I  feared  a  chill 
if  I  sat  in  my  wet  clothes.  The  king  kindly 
got  me  a  blanket  to  wrap  around  myself,  and  I 
took  off  my  wet  clothes  and  hung  them  up  to 
dry.  I  took  off  my  shoes,  also,  and  set  them 
by  the  fire. 
11 


158      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


The  king's  wife  got  supper  and  the  people 
gathered  in,  and  we  had  quite  a  meeting.  I 
had  taken  no  book  this  time,  for  we  had  hoped 
to  be  home  again  that  night ;  but  there  was  a 
young  man  present  who  had  an  EngHsh  Prayer 
Book,  which  they  brought  to  me.  Another 
man  had  a  picture  of  Jesus  Christ  on  the  cross. 
With  the  help  of  these  we  read  and  explained 
to  them  the  plan  of  salvation  and  talked  of  the 
things  of  God  until  it  was  late.  Some  men 
brought  in  a  few  fathoms  of  fish  net,  and  this 
we  bought  to  take  back  with  us. 

The  people  finally  went  out,  and  I  retired. 
A  mat  made  of  the  leaves  of  the  pah  tree, 
with  a  stick  of  wood  for  a  pillow  and  a  cloth 
for  a  covering,  was  my  bed,  and  was  placed  on 
the  mud  floor  of  the  hut.  After  I  had  gone 
to  bed  a  number  of  men  came  from  another 
town  with  more  net  to  sell.  I  got  up  and 
bought  it ;  and  in  the  morning  we  were  ready 
to  start  back  home. 

I  called  on  a  number  of  the  people  before 
breakfast  was  ready,  talked  to  them  of  the 
things  of  God,  and  held  a  short  meeting ;  and 
then  started  for  home.  There  was  so  much 
water  in  the  road  that  my  feet  were  thoroughly 
wet  before  we  got  started  down  the  river ;  and 
it  rained  quite  heavily  all  the  way.  When  we 
reached  our  own  town  the  people  gathered 


Visiting  Neighboring  Tribes.  159 


round  mc  and  shook  hands  witli  me,  glad  to 
see  mc  home  and  expressing  their  sorrow  at 
seeing  me  so  wet. 

When  I  started  from  the  town  for  tlie  mis- 
sion house  our  children  saw  me  and  came  run- 
nine  down  the  hill  to  meet  me.  Bestman  had 
kept  house  for  me,  and  he  was  with  the  rest. 
If  I  had  been  away  six  months  they  could  not 
have  made  more  ado  over  my  coming  home. 

I  was  very  thankful  not  to  be  seriously  sick 
after  my  exposure.  I  did,  indeed,  have  a  little 
fever — just  enough  to  tell  me  that  it  is  not  a 
good  thing  in  Africa  to  get  wet. 

The  Sunday  following  the  young  men  and 
boys  went  early  to  Po  River  to  hold  a  meeting 
in  the  town  before  the  people  should  get  away 
in  the  morning.  Peter,  my  oldest  boy — nine- 
teen years  of  age — was  left  home  to  cook  the 
breakfast.  After  their  return  we  all  sat  down 
for  our  morning  meeting;  but  Peter  was  miss- 
ing. He  had  been  much  concerned  about  his 
salvation,  and  we  had  all  been  praying  God  to 
save  him.  Some  of  the  boys  said  that  he  had 
gone  to  the  bush.  So  we  went  on  with  the 
meeting  without  him.  We  had  not  been  long 
started  when  we  heard  some  one  coming  up  the 
walk  clapping  his  hands  and  saying,  "  My  soul 
is  happy !  My  soul  is  happy !  Jesus  has 
washed  my  sins  away.    My  soul   is  happy 


i6o      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


now."  Peter  came  running  into  the  house 
and  shoolv  hands  with  mc,  saying,  "  Teacher, 
Jesus  has  washed  my  sins  away  to-day!  "  He 
shook  hands  with  several  in  the  meeting,  and 
talked  to  us  of  what  Jesus  had  done  for  him. 

We  all  knelt  down  and  prayed  and  went  on 
with  our  meeting.  The  event  made  quite  a 
stir  among  us,  as  none  present  had  ever  before 
seen  a  person  converted.  Peter  was  soundly 
converted  that  morning,  as  his  after  life  showed, 
lie  had  been  so  miserable  and  anxious  about 
his  soul  that  he  had  gone  to  the  bush  to  pray, 
and  it  was  there  that  he  found  Jesus. 

What  a  joy  to  the  Christian  that  Jesus  will 
receive  any  sinner  at  any  time,  in  any  place, 
even  in  the  midst  of  an  African  forest !  How 
I  have  rejoiced  as  I  have  seen  my  dear  bbys 
and  girls  get  hold  on  God  and  experience  his 
saving  power!  They  are  just  as  much  changed 
as  any  other  sinner  when  the  power  of  God 
transforms  their  hearts. 

What  a  wonderful  and  Almighty  Saviour  we 
have,  that  he  can  make  himself  understood  to 
those  in  heathen  darkness !  Wherever  there 
is  a  heart  that  sincerely  seeks  him  it  does  find 
him.  There  are  already  a  few  native  people 
that  know  for  themselves  that  God  has  power 
on  earth  to  forgive  sins.  But  O  what  a  host 
there  are  still  who  "sit  in  heathen  darkness." 


In  Jouknkyings  Oft. 


i6i 


CHAPTER  X. 


IN  JOUUNEVINCJS  OFT. 


Missionavy  Jdunicy  u[)  tliu  Coast. — A  Missing  Trader. — 
Becalmed  in  a  I'  og. — C'liristnias  at  Cape  I'almas. — Anollier 
Helper  at  Ciarravvay.  —  Up  the  Cavalla  River. — A  Woman 
I'lit  to  tlie  "  Sasswood." — Falls  of  the  Cavalla.  —  Runaway 
Wives. 


V_y  at  Cape  Palmas  and  Miss  Dingman,  one 
of  our  missionaries,  came  to  our  station  at 
Garraway,  on  their  way  up  the  coast  on  business. 
I  had  not  yet  visited  any  of  the  coast  stations, 
and  therefore  went  with  them  to  see  the  work 
at  other  points.  We  had  a  fair  wind,  and 
reached  Sasstown  at  seven  in  the  evening,  a 
tlistancc  of  seventy  miles — an  unusually  quick 
tri[).  As  we  never  have  daylight  at  seven 
o'clock  in  Liberia,  it  was  quite  dark  when  we 
reached  the  town. 

We  landed  from  the  surfboat  which  had 
brought  us,  and  j^irocured  a  lantern  and  some 
men  to  go  with  us  to  the  mission,  a  distance 
of  about  two  miles.  There  had  been  rain,  and 
water  lay  in  the  little  footpath.  Sometimes 


December,  1890,  our  agent 


iC2      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


\vc  waded  through  mud;  and  when  it  got  too 
bad  the  men  carried  us  over  the  worst  pools. 
We  readied  the  mission  at  hist,  thoroughly 
wet  from  the  rain  and  the  walk  in  the  long- 
grass  along  the  road.  After  drying  ourselves 
and  having  supper  we  retired  for  the  night. 

The  next  morning  we  went  out  to  see  the 
mission  grounds,  and  the  little  town  of  native 
Christians  who  had  been  converted  and  moved 
out  of  the  heathen  town.  They  are  living  civ- 
ilized lives,  and  look  like  persons  clothed  and 
in  their  right  mind. 

After  a  pleasant  visit  at  Sasstown  we  started 
back  down  the  coast  to  Piquininni  Sess.  There 
is  a  mission  house  there  ;  but  it  had  been  closed 
for  some  time,  and  we  could  not  stay  there  all 
night.  We  went,  therefore,  to  the  native  town, 
where  we  were  quartered  in  a  native  house 
owned  by  one  of  the  traders. 

The  traders  did  all  they  could  to  accommo- 
date us,  and  provided  us  with  a  good  supper 
of  palm  butter  and  rice.  There  were  no  beds, 
but  they  got  planks  for  Miss  Dingman  and  my- 
self to  lie  on.  We  lay  down,  but  could  not 
sleep.  The  smell  of  the  palm  kernels,  palm  oil, 
tobacco,  salt  fish,  and  other  articles  of  trade 
was  so  strong,  and  the  people  kept  up  so  much 
noise,  that,  putting  it  altogether,  we  could  not 
sleep  at  all. 


In  Jouknkyings  Okt. 


The  boat  was  loaded  in  the  ni^ht  with  the 
produce  the  traders  had  collected  to  send  to 
the  Cape,  and  before  sunrise  we  started,  glad 
to  get  away  safely ;  for  there  seemed  to  be 
some  danger  of  there  being  trouble  before  we 
left.  It  was  for  this  reason  the  boat  was  loaded 
and  we  left  before  daylight.  The  tribe  around 
the  station  is  known  as  a  very  hard  people  to 
get  along  with.  The  mission  is  now  (1895) 
occupied  by  a  young  native  man  and  his  wife; 
and  he  writes  me  that  he  is  succeeding  nicely, 
and  that  God  is  blessing  his  work. 

Grand  Sess,  the  next  station,  was  five  miles 
down  the  coast.  We  arrived  there  in  time  for 
breakfast.  Mr.  Robertson,  the  missionary, 
who  has  been  there  since  February,  1889,  en- 
tertained us  well.  His  Christian  people  came  in 
to  see  us,  and  we  had  quite  a  house  full.  Brother 
Robertson,  who  does  not  miss  an  opportunity 
to  sow  the  good  seed,  called  a  meeting  then 
and  there,  and  we  all  spoke  and  enjoyed  the 
service. 

Although  rain  had  been  falling  and  it  was 
very  damp,  yet,  as  we  were  anxious  to  get  home, 
we  started  for  Garraway,  twenty  miles  farther 
down  the  coast.  There  was  no  wind,  and  our 
boatmen  rowed  for  several  miles  until  they 
were  tired.  Then  they  let  the  oars  rest  for  a 
while.  Seeing,  however,  that  we  were  not  likely 


164      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


to  reach  home  that  way,  they  took  hold  and 
rowed  again. 

About  halfway  down  to  Garraway  we  stop- 
ped to  wait  for  a  trader  whom  we  expected 
to  pick  up  there.  When  on  our  way  up  the 
coast  we  had  met  with  some  of  the  Wet  Har- 
bor people  out  fishing  in  the  sea.  They  came 
up  to  our  boat  and  demanded  tobacco.  They 
said  they  were  willing  to  buy  it.  No  trader  had 
been  to  their  town  for  some  time,  and  they  had 
quantities  of  palm  kernels.  If  anybody  would 
bring  tobacco  ashore  they  would  buy  it  all  that 
day.  Accordingly,  a  trader  in  our  boat,  seeing 
that  there  was  no  other  way  of  getting  rid  of 
them,  took  a  sack  of  tobacco  and  got  into 
their  canoe  to  go  ashore  and  buy  the  kernels. 

He  made  an  arrangement  with  the  captain 
of  our  boat  to  stop  for  him  on  the  way  back. 
We  waited  for  him  a  short  time.  But  there 
was  a  heavy  mist,  and  we  feared  that  he  would 
not  see  us;  yet  as  the  landing  was  bad  the 
captain  did  not  venture  in  very  close.  After 
waiting  awhile  and  seeing  nothing  of  the 
trader  we  started  on. 

The  men  rowed  on  and  on,  and  we  shivered 
in  the  cold  rain.  The  mist  was  so  thick  that 
the  captain  could  not  tell  where  he  was.  It 
grew  very  dark,  and  there  we  sat  becalmed. 
They  had  taken  down  the  sail,  and  were  de- 


In  Journkvincs  Okt.  165 

pending  on  their  own  sticny,th  to  reach  a  land- 
ing. 

The  hours  rolled  on.  None  of  us  had  a 
timepiece  with  us,  to  tell  us  just  how  late  it 
was.  Those  of  us  who  had  brought  watches 
to  Africa  had  laid  them  aside  before  this,  for 
they  had  stopped  and  were  therefore  useless, 
as  there  was  no  one  to  clean  or  repair  them. 
Still,  we  knew  it  was  getting  late  or,  perhaps, 
early  in  the  morning. 

Some  of  the  boatmen  went  to  the  bow  of 
the  boat,  and  declared,  judging  by  the  rocks 
they  could  see,  that  we  were  off  Fishtowii,  ten 
miles  beyond  Garraway,  where  we  wished  to 
land.  After  some  discussion  the  captain  went 
forward  to  the  lookout.  He  said  we  were  not 
at  Fishtown,  but  at  one  of  our  own  towns,  and 
that  we  were  about  a  mile  past  the  mouth  of 
the  river  where  the  landing  was.  So  they 
turned  the  boat  around  and  pulled  back,  and 
we  got  ashore.  It  was  half  past  two  in  the 
morning  when  we  got  home  to  the  mission 
house  ;  and  after  getting  some  supper  we  all 
retired  for  the  night. 

Arrangements  were. made  at  this  time  for  all 
the  missionaries  to  meet  at  the  Cape,  with 
their  school  children,  to  have  a  Christmas  en- 
tertainment. It  was  thought  that  it  would  be 
a  good  thing  for  the  work,  and  a  means  of  re- 


iC6      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


IVcsliing  to  the  workers,  to  meet  together  and 
have  tlie  privilege  of  exchanging  ideas.  It 
was  also  felt  that  it  would  be  a  help  to  our 
children  to  meet  with  others  of  their  own  age 
who  were  clothed  in  civilized  fashion,  and  who 
were  in  school  for  the  purpose  of  learning 
something  unknown  to  their  fathers. 

I  at  once  set  to  work  to  get  our  children 
ready,  which  was  not  a  small  undertaking,  for 
we  were  now  twenty-four  in  number — men, 
women,  children,  and  a  baby.  Miss  Dingman 
remained  with  me  at  Garraway  to  help  us  get 
ready ;  and  on  the  day  before  Christmas  we 
left  for  the  Cape. 

As  the  weather  was  bad  and  we  were  going 
by  boat  the  captain  said  we  must  start  before 
day.  So  we  were  ready  and  embarked  at  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  At  daybreak  it  began 
to  storm,  and  we  were  out  in  a  drenching  rain 
until  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  we 
reached  Cape  Palmas,  dripping  wet.  The 
children  had  shivered  in  the  rain  all  day,  and 
not  one  of  them  had  a  dry  garment  to  put  on. 

The  entertainment  was  to  be  that  evening. 
So  after  supper  we  all  went  over  to  the  church. 
The  workers  had  arranged  a  beautiful  Christ- 
mas tree.  Every  child  had  a  present  on  it. 
We  spent  a  very  pleasant  evening  together, 
and  the  children  were  more  than  delighted. 


In  Jouknkvings  Oft. 


167 


The  next  day  was  Christmas,  and  the  chiklren 
from  the  different  stations  had  an  enjoyable 
day  together,  and  a  very  <^ood  dinner. 

On  tlie  twenty-sixtli  three  couples  from  our 
tribe  were  married — Bo  and  Mannah,  Dec  and 
Cano,  Doo  and  Wiscdday.  They  had  been  man 
and  wife  before,  but  had  forsaken  heathenism 
and  wished  to  be  married  according  to  God's 
law.  One  of  our  missionaries  married  them  in 
the  church. 

We  remained  over  Sunday  and  attended  the 
service  with  the  other  missionaries.  On  Mon- 
day morning  we  left  for  our  home.  All  had 
enjoyed  Christmas  very  much,  but  I  was  glad 
to  get  my  flock  all  safely  home. 

In  February  of  1891  Mrs.  Minor  and  her  son 
Johnny,  a  lad  of  eleven  years,  came  out  to  help 
me  with  the  work  at  Garraway.  For  the  first 
six  weeks  they  enjoyed  it.  They  liked  the 
country  and  the  work,  and  we  lived  very  happy 
together.  Then  Johnny  was  taken  sick,  and 
soon  Mrs.  Minor  was  taken  down  with  the 
fever.  For  two  days  and  nights  she  was  un- 
conscious. I  feared  she  would  not  get  better. 
The  little  boy  was  sick  in  bed,  and  I  spent 
some  anxious  days. 

It  was  decided  that  the  best  thing  to  do  was 
to  send  word  to  the  Cape  and  see  if  any  relief 
could  be  obtained  for  the  sufferers.    A  boat 


i68      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


was  accordingly  sent  up  from  the  Cape  with  a 
Liberian  woman  on  board,  bringing  word  from 
our  agent  tliat  if  Mrs.  Minor  cared  to  come  to 
the  Cape  the  boat  would  take  her  down.  There 
she  would  receive  better  care,  and  more  appe- 
tizing nourishment  could  be  had  for  her  than 
in  Garraway. 

Both  invalids  were  somewhat  better,  but 
thought  it  best  to  go.  I  got  their  things  ready, 
and  they  started,  in  hopes  of  getting  well  and 
being  able  to  return  to  the  work.  After  they 
reached  the  Cape  they  steadily  im[M'oved  ;  but 
it  was  not  long  before  Mrs.  Minor  wrote  Un- 
the  things  she  had  left,  saying  that  she  wouKl 
not  return  to  Garraway.  She  had  changed  her 
mind,  and  would  take  up  some  other  work. 

The  day  I  received  this  letter  was  the  most 
lonely  day  I  have  had  in  Africa.  "  Is  it  possi- 
ble," thought  I,  "that  I  am  alone  again?" 
The  family  was  large,  and  the  sewing,  teach- 
ing, services,  and  superintendcncy  of  all  the 
work,  both  in  the  house  and  on  the  farm, 
seemed  enough  to  crush  me,  and  I  could  not 
keep  the  tears  back  all  day. 

I  had  always  kept  close  to  my  work,  and, 
with  the  exception  of  my  single  trip  up  the 
coast,  had  not  visited  any  of  the  other  sta- 
tions. Some  of  the  missionaries,  however,  de- 
sired  to  go  up  the  Cavalla    River  to  visit 


In  Journeyings  Oft. 


169 


the  stations  there ;  and  I  thought  it  would 
be  a  good  cliance  to  go.  So  I  took  four  of 
our  Christian  men  and  went  with  the  rest. 

We  were  a  company  of  twenty-two.  Start- 
ing out  in  the  morning,  we  walked  most  of 
the  way  in  the  hot  sun,  along  the  rough  roads, 
through  the  bush,  over  many  logs  and  roots  of 
trees,  and  past  the  rice  farms.  We  were  car- 
ried over  the  water  in  a  hammock.  About 
four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  came  to  Bar- 
raky,  where  Miss  White  and  her  sister  are  sta- 
tioned. We  remained  there  over  Sunday  and 
had  good  meetings,  first  in  the  town  and  then 
in  the  mission  house.  We  had  a  good  day, 
and  all  rejoiced  in  the  presence  of  God  among 
us,  and  the  interest  the  people  took  in  the  serv- 
ices. 

On  Monday  morning  we  started  for  the 
river.  At  three  o'clock  we  reached  our  desti- 
nation. Some  of  us  visited  the  Episcopal 
mission  on  the  river,  and  went  from  there  to 
a  neighboring  native  town. 

We  were  all  very  hungry,  but  got  some  cas- 
sadas  and  roasted  them  until  the  dinner  was 
cooked.  When  the  people  came  in  from  their 
rice  farms  they  gathered  around  us,  and  we 
talked  to  them  of  the  truths  of  God.  Many 
were  very  much  interested,  and  seemed  to 
understand  that  the  truth  of  God  would  be 


I/O      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


a  benefit  to  them  and  that  God's  law  was 
right. 

As  we  knew  that  we  must  sleep  in  the  na- 
tive towels  we  had  brought  blankets  with  us. 
These  we  spread  on  the  mud  floor  of  the 
house  and,  with  a  stick  of  wood  for  a  pillow, 
lay  down  for  the  night.  But  I  did  not  sleep, 
and  never  have  been  able  to  sleep  lying  on  a 
mud  floor,  which  always  seems  to  me  harder 
and  more  uncomfortable  than  lying  on  a 
jDlank. 

In  the  morning  we  started  up  the  river  in 
two  canoes.  After  several  hours'  pulling  we 
reached  VVissika  station,  where  we  met  Hugo 
Hoppie  and  his  wife,  who  were  in  charge. 

After  having  lunch  there  we  went  on  sev- 
eral miles  farther  to  Eubloky  station,  which  is 
in  charge  of  Mrs.  Tubman,  a  good  Liberian 
sister.  She  had  a  house  full  of  little  adopted 
boys  and  girls  in  her  school.  We  stayed  here 
all  night  and  had  a  pleasant  time  with  the 
family,  but  saw  very  little  of  the  townspeo- 
ple, as  the  mission  is  at  considerable  distance 
from  the  village. 

In  the  morning  we  went  on  our  Avay  to 
Yahky,  which  was  then  in  charge  of  Miss 
Bates,  who  has  since  married  Mr.  Walker. 
Here  we  had  dinner,  and  then  continued  on 
to  Tataka,  several   miles   farther.    Here  we 


In  Journeyings  Oft. 


171 


made  our  hcadquurLcrs,  with  Miss  Whitfield, 
the  missionary  in  charge. 

We  intended  going  on  up  the  river  to  the 
falls  the  next  day,  but  could  not  get  a  guide. 
As  we  would  not  be  able  to  find  our  way  alone 
we  were  obliged  to  wait  a  day.  The  next  day 
wc  started  up  the  river,  intending  to  get  our 
guide  as  we  went  along. 

When  we  came  to  the  town  where  he  lived 
we  found  everybody  greatly  excited.  A  man 
had  died,  and  they  had  caught  a  woman  and 
were  going  to  give  her  "  sasswood  ;"  for  they  • 
said  that  she  was  a  witch  and  had  been  the 
cause  of  the  man's  death.  We  found  that 
they  had  already  taken  her  a  little  distance 
out  of  the  village  to  drink  the  "  sasswood."  We 
were  obliged  to  wait  until  we  found  our  guide; 
and  while  doing  so  several  of  us  started  out  to 
see  if  we  could  not  possibly  save  the  poor 
woman  from  the  ordeal. 

On  the  way  some  men  stopped  us,  and, 
standing  in  the  path,  asked  us,  "  What  side 
you  live  go?"  "To  see  them  woman,"  said 
we. 

"  No;  you  no  fit,"  said  they. 
"  How?    We  no  come  for  palaver." 
"  O,  but  you  go  heave  them  '  sasswood'  out," 
they  said. 

We  told  them  that  we  were  not  going  to 


1/2      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


throw  away  the  "sasswood  "  but  wanted  to  see 
what  they  were  doin^.    So  they  let  us  pass. 

We  came  upon  a  crowd  of  men  all  furious 
at  the  poor  woman,  who  stood  there,  with  the 
bowl  of  "sasswood"  in  her  hand,  calling  on  God 
to  witness  the  scene  and  hear  her  statements. 
She  stood  talking  to  the  "sasswood"  for  several 
minutes.  A  young  man  stood  by  her  side 
holding  a  handful  of  little  stones.  As  she 
mentioned  each  deed  that  she  had  been  ac- 
cused of,  and  declared  that  she  was  innocent 
of  it,  he  would  take  a  stone  and  touch  the 
side  of  the  bowl  of  poison  with  it,  and  then 
throw  the  stone  away.  After  making  her 
speech  she  drank  the  "sasswood."  There  was  a 
perfect  babel  of  voices,  for  the  people  were 
excited  and  all  talked  at  once. 

They  then  brought  the  woman  to  town,  and 
we  all  came  back.  The  "  Quee,"  a  secret  so- 
ciety in  the  town,  had  the  case  in  charge.  The 
women  were  all  in  their  houses  with  the  doors 
shut.  The  men  told  us  to  go  inside  also,  for 
they  did  not  wish  us  to  see  what  they  were 
doing. 

But  we  stayed  outside,  and  as  we  were 
strangers  they  did  not  know  what  to  do  with 
us.  The  Quee  desired  to  parade  about  the 
town  and  did  not  wish  us  to  see  the  devil,  for 
the  Quee  is  a  devil-society.    It  is  the  devil's 


In  Journeyings  Oft. 


173 


coming  to  town  that  makes  the  women  hide 
within  tlieir  houses. 

The  man  wiio  takes  the  part  of  the  devil  has 
a  strange-sounding  whistle  that  he  blows  ;  and 
this,  they  say,  is  the  devil  talking.  That  we 
might  not  see  this  man  they  covered  him  with 
a  blanket,  and  carried  him  around  upon  their 
shoulders.  They  passed  quite  close  to  us ;  but 
there  were  so  many  men  that  all  we  could  see 
was  the  blanket. 

After  we  had  been  in  town  a  short  time  we 
learned,  that  the  very  man  we  were  expecting 
to  engage  for  our  guide  was  impersonating  the 
devil.  So  we  knew  there  was  no  hope  of  get- 
ting away  till  the  performance  was  all  over. 
After  they  had  been  around  the  town  several 
times  they  went  out  into  the  bush  and  took 
this  devil-man  down  from  their  shoulders.  He 
reentered  by  a  different  road.  Coming  up  to 
us  as  if  he  were  quite  innocent  of  all  that  had 
been  going  on,  he  said  that  he  was  ready  to  go 
with  us.    Then  we  started  on  our  way  again. 

We  went  in  canoes  several  miles  up  the 
river,  until  we  came  to  rapids  and  could  go  no 
farther  by  water.  We  left  the  canoes  at  a 
town  that  was  near  the  bank  of  the  river.  The 
king  and  chiefs  received  us  kindly.  They  were 
much  pleased  to  see  so  many  white  people — 
there  were  seven  in  our  company— and  gave  us 
12 


1/4      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


a  guide  to  show  us  the  road  to  the  falls.  We 
walked  in  the  hot  sun  through  the  thick  jun- 
gle and  over  the  hills  through  the  rice  farms. 

Soon  we  heard  the  rush  of  the  waters  and 
knew  that  we  were  near  the  falls.  When  we 
reached  the  place  we  sat  down  to  rest,  for  we 
were  very  tired.  These  falls  are  not,  of  course, 
to  be  compared  with  some  of  the  world's  noted 
falls  in  volume  of  water,  nor  does  the  water 
plunge  straight  down  as  at  Niagara.  Neverthe- 
less, the  whole  river  bed  is  of  rock,  and  very 
rough,  and  the  water  rushing  and  foaming  over 
the  rocks  is  a  beautiful  sight. 

We  spent  several  hours  there  and  then  re- 
turned to  town.  While  we  had  been  absent 
the  king  had  cooked  us  a  dinner,  which  he 
served  in  two  wash  basins — the  rice  in  one,  and 
the  palm  butter  in  another.  We  poured  the 
palm  butter  over  the  rice  and  mixed  it  in  with 
a  spoon.  Then  we  all  sat  around  the  bowl 
and  had  a  hearty  meal,  two  of  us  eating  with 
a  single  spoon. 

We  then  started  down  the  river  on  our  way 
back  to  Tataka.  Here  we  spent  Sunday.  We 
had  a  Quarterly  Meeting,  at  which  missionaries 
and  children  were  present  from  nine  stations. 
Eleven  were  baptized.  After  dinner  we  went 
into  the  town  and  held  a  meeting,  and  two 
more  were  baptized. 


In  Journeyings  Oft. 


175 


On  Monday  morning  \vc  started  down  the 
river  on  our  way  to  Cape  Talmas.  We  reached 
liolobo,  the  end  of  our  journey  on  the  river,  at 
three  o'clock,  and  from  there  started  on  through 
the  bush.  We  came  to  the  native  town  Quiti- 
qui  just  before  sundown  and  decided  that  we 
had  better  stay  there  all  night. 

Miss  McNeil  and  I,  the  only  ladies  in  the 
party,  had  a  small  house  to  ourselves,  and  the 
gentlemen  another.  We  did  not  rest  very 
comfortably,  since  we  had  no  bed,  but  were 
again  compelled  to  sleep  on  the  mud  floor, 
with  only  a  blanket  to  relieve  its  hardness. 
We  rose  early  and  went  as  far  as  Barraky, 
where  we  stopped  for  breakfast,  and  reached 
the  Cape  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

The  night  we  stopped  at  Quitiqui  we  heard 
that  two  of  our  young  women  had  run  away  to 
a  tribe  with  which  our  people  were  then  at 
war.  Their  husbands  were  two  of  the  young 
men  who  had  gone  with  me  up  the  river.  They 
had  left  their  wives  at  home  with  no  thought 
that  they  would  prove  untrue  to  them,  for  they 
had  both  been  married  according  to  the  rites 
of  the  church  only  a  few  months  before.  We 
were  therefore  anxious  to  get  home  to  Garra- 
way  to  see  if  the  news  was  true. 

It  was  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the 
second  day  after  our  arrival  at  Cape  Palmas 


176      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


when  wc  finally  got  into  the  boat  and  pulled 
out  of  the  river.  But  the  tide  being  out,  the 
water  was  too  low  to  allow  our  boat  to  pass 
over  the  bar.  So  the  boatmen  anchored  and 
waited  a  time,  then  came  back  to  the  landing 
and  said  they  would  start  in  the  night.  At 
midnight  they  called  us.  We  had  gone  to  the 
mission  house,  a  considerable  walk  away,  but 
went  down  to  the  boat,  only  to  find  that  the 
captain  had  again  changed  his  mind  and  now 
said  that  he  would  not  leave  until  daylight. 
We  returned  to  the  mission  and  lay  down  to 
rest  for  a  few  hours. 

At  break  of  day  they  called  us  again,  and  we 
started  out.  The  boat  was  rowed  over  the 
bar ;  but  there  we  again  cast  anchor,  to  wait 
for  the  wind.  The  sea  was  perfectly  calm.  So 
we  sat  in  the  burning  sun,  without  our  break- 
fasts, until  eleven  o'clock,  when  the  breeze 
sprung  up.  They  hoisted  the  sail,  and  we 
started  for  home.  We  reached  Garraway  at 
five  in  the  afternoon,  much  fatigued,  but  very 
glad  to  get  back  again. 

The  next  day  we  went  to  the  tribe  where 
our  two  women  had  fled,  to  inquire  about  them 
and  bring  them  home  if  possible.  The  people 
refused  to  let  them  come  home,  and  accused 
the  Garraways  of  having  some  of  their  women. 
We  finally  applied  to  the  Liberian  government, 


In  JouRNEViNGS  Oft. 


177 


which  scut  a  commissioner  to  bring  home  the 
runaway  wives.  The  young  men  and  I  went 
with  him  to  get  tiie  women  ;  but  the  people 
still  refused  to  let  them  come. 

We  never  have  frost  in  Liberia ;  but  we  do 
have  a  rainy  season,  when  everything  is  wet 
and  all  the  little  hollows  in  the  road  are  full  of 
water.  It  was  a  rainy  day  on  which  we  went 
out  for  the  women.  The  long  grass  hung 
over  the  paths.  We  took  the  hammock  with 
us;  but  I  started  to  walk  and  got  wet,  and 
was  then  afraid  to  be  carried  in  the  hammock. 
I  therefore  walked  all  the  way,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  one  place  where  I  had  to  be  car- 
ried over  a  very  wet  stretch  of  road. 

The  tribe  to  which  our  women  had  fled  was 
the  Nemia  people,  with  whom  the  Garraways 
had  been  at  war  soon  after  I  reached  Africa. 
The  old  scores  had  never  been  satisfactorily 
settled  ;  and  they  kept  the  women  because  of 
the  former  grievances. 

I  believe  there  is  no  one  thing  among  the 
people  that  causes  more  disturbance  than  this 
habit  of  the  women  of  running  away  from  tribe 
to  tribe.  It  is  a  common  occurrence  among 
them,  and  there  are  few  women  who  have  not 
at  some  time  in  their  lives  runaway  from  their 
husbands  and  homes,  to  be  the  wives  of  other 
men  in  some  hostile  tribe. 


178      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


These  two  women  had  no  idea  of  runnhig 
away  when  we  left  on  our  up-river  tour.  But 
a  man  of  the  Nemias  had  come  along  and  in- 
duced them  to  go  off  with  him.  African  wives 
hold  everything  very  loosely,  and  are  easily 
persuaded  to  change  houses  and  husbands. 
So  these  women  packed  up  all  their  belongings, 
shut  their  house  doors,  and  went  away,  giving 
very  little  thought  as  to  where  they  were 
going  or  what  they  were  leaving. 

If  the  Liberian  government  had  been 
stronger  it  could  have  compelled  the  Nemias 
to  return  the  women ;  but  when  they  refused 
that  was  the  end  of  it.  One  of  the  women  is 
there  to-day.  The  other,  after  an  absence  of 
seven  months,  was  sorry  for  her  folly,  and  sent 
word  to  her  husband  that  she  wished  to  come 
back  if  he  would  only  forgive  her.  She  then 
ran  away  from  the  Nemia  people  and  came 
back  to  her  husband,  with  whom  she  has  now 
been  living  in  her  own  house  for  several  years. 


Ups  and  Downs. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

UPS  AND  DOWNS. 

A  New  Helper. — A  Clandestine  Repast. — Burning  of  the 
Boys'  House. — The  Mission  House  Rebuilt. — Stair  Build- 
ing.— Redeeming  Native  Girls. — A  Midnight  Runaway. — 
Peter. — Summoned  to  Court. — The  Law's  Delay. 

IN  December,  1891,  Miss  Carlson,  a  young 
woman  from  Brooklyn,  was  sent  to  assist 
me  at  Garraway.  She  enjoyed  the  work  and 
was  of  great  assistance,  staying  longer  than  any 
other  of  my  helpers,  being  with  me  six  months, 
when  she  married  one  of  our  missionaries. 

In  March,  1892,  Miss  Whitfield,  who  was 
going  home  to  America  for  a  rest,  wrote  ask- 
ing me  to  come  down  to  Cape  Palmas,  where 
she  was,  and  take  three  of  her  school  children 
to  keep  in  our  school  until  her  return.  I  went 
to  the  Cape,  leaving  our  own  children  in  Miss 
Carlson's  care. 

I  had  been  absent  three  days  when  word 
came  that  there  had  been  a  fire  at  the  Garra- 
way mission  and  that  the  boys'  house  was 
burned.  We  had  had  a  house  built  to  ac- 
commodate the  boys  and  for  our  interpreter, 
who  was  also  in  charge  of  the  farm. 


i8o      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


But  this  man's  wife  had  become  dissatisfied, 
and  had  threatened  to  leave  him  if  he  did  not 
move  off  the  mission  ground  and  build  a  house 
for  her.  As  there  was  no  other  way  to  satisfy 
her,  he  built  a  house  in  the  Christian  town, 
and  they  moved  into  it.  Even  then  she  was 
not  satisfied  with  his  working  on  the  farm,  and 
to  please  her  he  also  gave  this  up. 

The  boys  were  thus  left  in  their  house  alone, 
with  one  old  man  whom  we  had  in  the  mis- 
sion. I  had  charged  them  strictly  that  they 
should  obey  Miss  Carlson  in  my  absence,  and 
not  go  off  the  farm  without  her  consent.  But 
the  first  night  I  was  away,  after  prayers,  the 
boys  went  to  their  own  house  to  go  to  bed, 
and  Miss  Carlson,  with  the  girls,  retired  to 
rest  in  the  mission  house. 

The  boys'  house  had  a  mud  floor,  and  was 
not  fit  for  them  to  sleep  in  without  a  fire,  so  in 
the  center  of  the  room  a  fire  was  started  in  the 
evening.  On  this  occasion  they  had  brought 
a  few  vegetables  home  from  the  farm,  and  some 
of  them  said, "  Let  us  cook  the  potatoes,  and  eat 
them  before  we  go  to  bed."  They  kindled  the 
fire.  As  they  had  no  pot,  they  thought  a  tin 
can  would  do,  and,  taking  a  firebrand,  went  to 
search  for  one. 

After  our  interpreter  had  moved  out  of  the 
boys'  house  we  had  made  a  storeroom  of  one 


Urs  AND  Downs. 


i8i 


apartment,  and  had  put  up  a  few  planks  over- 
head, thus  making-  a  loft.  The  old  mission 
house  was  not  safe,  the  frame  being  of  soft 
wood  and  badly  rotted,  as  well  as  eaten  by  in- 
sects. 

We  used  this  storeroom  to  keep  things  we 
were  not  actually  using.  Only  three  weeks 
before  we  had  received  our  supplies  for  the 
year.  Every  year  a  quantity  of  flour,  tinned 
meats,  and  groceries  was  sent  out  to  us,  since 
we  could  not  live  entirely  on  the  native  food. 
We  might  have  bought  supplies  with  money 
from  the  German  traders  on  the  coast ;  but, 
having  no  salary,  we  could  not  do  that.  More- 
over these  things  could  be  sent  to  us  more 
cheaply  from  America,  where  a  fund  is  main- 
tained for  the  purpose. 

These  supplies  were  in  the  storeroom,  and 
the  tinware  was  in  the  loft  above  it.  One  of 
the  boys  climbed  to  the  loft  with  the  firebrand 
in  his  hand,  and  secured  a  tin  can.  They  had 
put  the  potatoes  in  the  tin  and  had  set  it  on 
the  fire  to  boil,  when  they  discovered  fire  in 
the  loft  over  the  storeroom. 

They  got  water  and,  as  they  thought,  put  it 
out ;  but  as  they  did  not  take  everything  down, 
there  was  doubtless  some  fire  still  left.  The 
potatoes  were  cooked  and  eaten,  and  then  the 
old  man  said  he  was  going  to  fish  in  the  morn- 


1 82      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


ing  and  wanted  the  boys  to  go  with  him  to 
find  crabs  for  bait.  All  the  boys  went  along 
except  two,  who  lay  down  to  sleep. 

The  crabbing  party  had  been  away  some 
time  and  were  coming  home,  when  they  saw 
the  end  of  the  house  in  a  blaze.  Rushing  up 
the  hill,  they  found  the  two  boys  still  fast 
asleep.  They  woke  them  up  and  got  them 
out.  But  there  was  not  time  to  save  their 
clothes  or  books.  My  organ  was  there,  too, 
for  we  used  this  house, for  school  and  religious 
services  on  account  of  the  insecurity  of  the 
mission  building. 

The  boys  got  the  organ  outside ;  but  it  was 
badly  damaged  and  was  never  of  any  use  after 
this.  vThe  house  was  burned  to  the  ground, 
with  all  the  supplies  for  the  year,  many  useful 
tools,  our  gun,  and  other  things  that  we  have 
not  yet  been  able  to  replace. 

It  was  a  black-looking  home  to  come  back 
to,  for  not  only  the  boys'  house  was  burned, 
but  the  fowl  house  and  eleven  fowls  with  it. 
The  cook  house  also,  and  the  trees  and  bushes 
were  black  all  around. 

I  had  labored  very  hard  to  get  our  work  up 
to  where  it  was,  and  we  had  all  felt  that  our 
house  was  quite  homelike.  But  this  fire  broke 
it  all  up,  and  we  were  left  without  a  house  that 
was  safe  to  live  in.    Several  times  during  thun- 


Urs  AND  Downs. 


183 


tlcrstoinis,  wlicn  the  wind  did  seem  as  if  it 
\vt)iild  blow  the  house  down,  we  have  all  gone 
outside  into  the  rain,  knowing  that  the  house 
was  liable  to  fall  at  any  moment. 

One  Sunday  afternoon  the  iron  side  plating 
of  the  building  began  to  come  off  during  a  wind- 
storm. Some  of  the  large  boys  got  up  on 
chairs  and  held  it  with  their  hands  until  we 
could  all  get  outside.  Then  they  leaned  a 
heavy  stick  of  timber  up  against  it  until  the 
wind  was  over  and  they  could  nail  it  up  again. 
That  day  our  house  was  almost  blown  down. 
More  than  once  I  have  got  up  in  the  night 
and  prepared  for  the  worst,  thinking  that  if  it 
did  fall  I  should  at  any  rate  be  upon  my  feet. 
This  experience  shook  my  nerves,  and  was  not 
easy  to  get  over. 

We  built  a  .small  native  house  in  which  to 
have  school  and  services,  and  had  to  move  into 
it  while  the  leaf  thatching  was  still  green  and 
the  mud  floor  wet.  We  set  up  our  bed  upon 
boxes  and  built  a  fire  under  it  in  the  after- 
noons, that  we  might  not  take  cold  from  the 
wet  floor.  During  the  day  we  dried  the  floor 
by  making  fires  upon  it.  Here  we  lived  for 
three  months  and  a  half  while  the  mission  house 
was  taken  down  and  rebuilt. 

Mr.  Robertson,  the  missionary  from  Grand 
Sess,  twenty  miles  above  us,  came  in  one 


1 84      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

evening  on  his  way  home  to  his  station,  and 
offered  to  come  and  help  us  rebuild  the  mission 
house  if  some  one  would  carry  on  liis  work 
while  he  was  away  ;  so  Miss  Carlson  went  to  his 
station  to  stay  while  he  came  to  help  us.  But 
he  had  only  got  the  frame  up  and  began  to  put 
on  the  siding  when  he  got  word  that  Miss 
Carlson  was  very  sick.  They  were  engaged  to 
be  married,  and  Mr.  Robertson  went  home  and 
married  her  while  she  was  yet  sick,  and  then 
took  care  of  her  until  she  recovered. 

We  were  thus  left  without  anyone  to  help  us 
with  our  house,  except  our  native  young  men 
and  boys.  But  we  worked  away,  however, 
doing  one  thing  at  a  time  and  not  knowing  un- 
til we  got  to  it  how  we  should  do  the  next. 

Our  presiding  elder  came  to  visit  us,  and  re- 
marked as  he  looked  round  the  house  : 

"Yes,  Miss  McAllister,  but  it  takes  a  carpen- 
ter to  put  up  the  stairs." 

"Yes,  I  know  that,"  I  replied;  "but  we 
have  not  come  to  the  stairs  yet.  When  we  do 
come  to  them  there  will  be  some  way  for  us  to 
get  through.  You  know  we  are  not  very  par- 
ticular— we  do  not  want  winding  stairs." 

We  worked  away,  and  it  was  wonderful  how 
the  good  Lord  heiped  us.  We  set  up  the 
rafters,  put  on  the  roof,  and  fitted  the  doors 
and  windows. 


Urs  AND  Downs.  185 


When  \vc  came  to  the  stairs  wc  first  found 
two  strong  boards  long  enough  to  reach  to  the 
top  landing  and  touch  the  ground.  We  knew 
we  must  place  them  slanting  in  order  to  get  up 
and  down.  Two  boards  from  the  old  floor  an- 
swered the  purpose.  These  we  set  up  and 
nailed  in  position.  We  had  used  up  our  sup- 
ply of  new  nails.  And  now  we  had  to  use  the 
burned  ones,  raked  out  of  the  ashes,  and  the 
holes  hatl  to  be  drilled  with  a  gimlet. 

For  steps  we  first  cut  a  board  long  enough 
to  fit  between  the  two  slanting  planks,  and 
guessing  about  how  far  we  could  comforta- 
bly step  up,  nailed  cleats  and  put  in  the 
steps.  We  then  stepped  up  on  it  to  see  how 
it  answered.  It  seemed  to  be  all  right.  So  we 
sawed  a  piece  for  the  rise  and  fitted  it  in. 

Then  we  put  up  another  step  and  tried  it, 
and  then  a  third.  We  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  our  plan  was  all  right.  We  accordingly 
made  the  remaining  steps  the  same  way,  and 
felt  that  we  had  finished  the  hardest  part  of 
the  house.  We  moved  in  before  the  partitions 
were  up,  in  order  to  escape  from  the  smoke  in 
the  native  hut. 

This  was  the  hardest  year  of  my  work  in 
Africa.  Along  with  all  this  extra  work  and 
that  caused  by  our  larger  family,  I  was  alone 
after  Miss  Carlson  went  away,  and  at  the  same 


1 86      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


time  had  eczema  in  my  left  hand  so  badly 
that  part  of  the  time  I  was  not  able  to  dress 
myself. 

But  the  Lord  was  good  and  sent  mc  relief. 
My  only  sister  came  out  in  April,  1893.  No 
person  who  has  not  been  in  such  circumstances 
can  know  how  I  appreciated  a  sister  in  my 
time  of  need.  Truly  t)ur  kind  heavenly  Father 
spared  mc  from  burdens  greater  than  I  could 
have  borne  alone. 

Girls  are  articles  of  trade  in  Africa.  Conse- 
quently they  are  not  free  to  come  to  school 
until  they  arc  redeemed.  The  price  of  a  girl 
varies  in  different  tribes;  but  a  fair  value  is 
two  bullocks,  one  cow,  one  goat,  one  brass  ket- 
tle, six  fathoms  of  cloth,  one  red  cap,  six  wash 
basins,  one  dozen  of  china  plates,  a  few  brass 
rods  for  making  bracelets,  several  bead  neck- 
laces, and  some  finger  rings  and  earrings. 
While  negotiating  for  a  wife  a  man  is  at  the 
call  of  his  intended  mother-in-law  to  go  when- 
ever or  wherever  she  chooses  to  send  him. 

But  when  we  redeem  the  girls  to  take  them 
into  our  school  we  pay  the  family  the  money 
they  would  receive  from  a  man  if  he  took  her 
for  his  wife,  and  are  free  from  any  further  ob- 
ligation. These  girls  are  educated,  and  are  not 
allowed  to  be  sold  again,  but  become  the  wives 
of  our  Christian  men  and  boys. 


Urs  AND  Downs,  187 


I  had  paid  Uic  usual  price  for  our  oldest  girl. 
Had  she  remained  with  her  people  she  would 
soon  have  been  married,  for  she  was  thirteen, 
and  all  the  native  girls  aspire  to  have  a  hus- 
band by  that  time,  and  are  looked  down  upon 
as  not  being  very  desirable  if  they  do  not 
obtain  one.  Our  girl  was  the  first  redeemed 
in  our  tribe  ;  and  I  often  heard  the  people  ask 
her  when  we  went  to  town,  "  Have  you  not 
got  a  husband  yet?"  or,  "Are  you  not  going 
to  get  married  ?  " 

We  hoped  to  keep  her  in  school  until  she 
should  learn  enough  to  become  a  useful  woman 
in  our  work,  and  then  to  have  her  marry  one 
of  our  schoolboys  and  be  a  help  in  the  native 
work. 

But  a  young  man  in  town,  who  had  no  wife, 
on  hearing  that  she  was  redeemed  thought  it 
a  good  chance  to  get  a  wife  without  having  to 
pay  for  her.  So  he  induced  her  to  leave  the 
mission  ;  and  one  night  she  ran  away,  taking 
with  her  the  second  girl,  a  year  younger  than 
herself. 

It  was  on  a  Saturday  evening.  We  had  all 
been  to  town  to  hold  service,  and  after  coming 
home  were  preparing  to  retire,  when  one  of 
the  little  girls,  who  had  a  sore  foot,  com- 
plained that  it  was  hurting  her,  and  I  sent 
the  two  older  girls  to  wash  it  before  they 


i88      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


went  up  stairs.  I  went  to  my  own  room  and 
prepared  to  retire.  The  girls  took  the  lamp 
up  stairs  with  them — a  thing  I  had  not  allowed 
them  to  do  alone.  They  soon  brought  it  down 
and  went  back  to  bed. 

After  I  was  asleep  the  two  girls  came  to  my 
door  and  said  "  Good-bye  "  without  waking  me, 
and  went  away  in  the  dark  night.  They  went 
to  the  waterside  town  where  the  young  man 
was  engaged  in  trading.  The  other  girls  knew 
they  had  gone,  but  said  nothing  until  morning. 

When  I  learned  that  the  girls  were  gone  I 
sent  at  once  to  the  man  I  had  paid  the  money 
to,  for  he  was  the  older  girl's  father,  and  had 
promised  to  help  me  care  for  her.  But  he  had 
gone  to  his  farm,  and  so  did  not  come.  We 
did  not  know  what  had  induced  the  girls  to 
leave,  and  did  not  know  where  to  find  them. 
They  were  both  from  the  interior,  and  I  did 
not  know  where  they  could  go,  unless  back 
home. 

We  proceeded  with  the  services  of  the  day, 
which  was  Sunday.  In  the  afternoon  we  went 
to  town,  as  was  our  custom.  When  we  came 
to  the  waterside  village  the  people  told  us  that 
the  girls  had  arrived  there  in  the  night,  and 
that  the  young  man  I  have  mentioned  had  an- 
nounced that  he  was  going  to  marry  our  oldest 
girl.    The  two  would  have  been  already  on 


Ups  and  Downs.  189 


their  way  to  the  Cape  to  be  married  if  there 

had  been  any  boat  to  carry  them. 

But  there  being  no  boat,  he  had  taken  the 
<rirls  alon^r  the  road  to  their  home  in  the  in- 
terior.  Our  Christian  men  and  boys  were  with 
me;  and  they  said,  "  If  we  get  hold  of  Peter 
we  will  teach  him  sense."  He  was  one  of  their 
own  tribe,  and  so  were  the  girls.  The  native 
people  never  think  of  applying  to  the  Liberian 
government  in  cases  of  this  kind.  They  have 
their  own  laws,  and  settle  their  own  difficulties. 

It  was  getting  late,  and  we  started  home  to 
the  mission.  On  our  way  whpm  should  we 
meet  but  Peter !  He  was  alone ;  and  we 
stopped  and  asked  him  about  the  girls.  He 
answered,  that  he  knew  nothing  about  them. 
I  replied :  "  You  need  not  say  that,  for  we 
know  better.  We  are  just  from  the  waterside, 
where  the  people  have  told  us  what  you  have 
done  and  what  you  want  to  do." 

I  questioned  him,  but  he  refused  to  answer. 
So  I  said  :  "  I  am  too  tired  to  stand  here  to 
wait  for  you  to  talk.  Come  with  us  to  the 
mission  house,  I  want  to  ask  you  some  ques- 
tions." We  all  went  to  the  mission  house  and 
sat  down.  But  Peter  refused  to  talk  for  a  time, 
until  one  of  the  men  said,  "  If  you  do  not  talk 
we  will  tie  you  up,  and  you  will  not  get  out  of 
here  to-night." 
13 


190      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

With  that  he  told  us  where  the  girls  were, 
and  that  he  intended  to  marry  the  older  girl. 
We  declared  that  he  should  not  have  the  girl, 
and  that  to  make  sure  of  the  return  of  both 
the  girls  we  should  keep  him  until  they  were 
brought  back.  We  had  learned  a  lesson  when 
the  two  women  of  our  tribe  had  run  away  some 
time  before. 

The  young  men  got  a  rope  and  securely  tied 
him.  We  kept  him  so  all  night,  and  I  sat  up 
and  watched  him.  In  the  morning  one  of  the 
young  men  went  to  town  and  came  back  with 
a  pair  of  handcuffs  and  with  irons  for  the  feet 
and,  removing  the  rope,  put  these  on. 

The  older  girl's  father  came  at  last.  He  was 
very  angr}^,  and  said  that  he  would  take  charge 
of  Peter,  and  that  no  one  should  loose  him 
until  he  gave  his  consent.  The  man  for  whom 
Peter  had  been  working  also  came  to  see  about 
him.  I  told  this  man  that  it  was  a  native 
palaver  (dispute),  that  the  native  people  had 
it  in  hand,  and  that  it  was  not  I  who  was 
holding  Peter.  "  Well,  if  that  is  the  way,"  re- 
plied the  man,  "  I  have  nothing  to  say." 

Another  young  Liberian  came  and  said  a 
great  many  hard  things.  But  when  he  saw 
that  I  was  not  afraid  and  could  give  good  rea- 
sons for  all  that  was  going  on  he  quieted  down  ; 
and  after  eating  some  molasses — for  we  were 


Ups  and  Downs. 


191 


making  molasses  from  sugar  cane — he  went 
away  quite  appeased. 

Tile  girls  came  back  in  the  afternoon,  and  a 
crowd  gathered.  After  some  loud  talking  and 
all  but  a  fight,  the  older  girl's  father,  who  had 
Peter  in  charge,  let  him  loose,  telling  him  he 
must  pay  him  for  his  trouble. 

Five  days  after  this  the  sheriff  was  sent,  by 
the  Liberian  government,  to  arrest  me.  The 
summons  stated  that  I  should  appear  in  the 
court  then  about  to  meet.  I  was  to  go  back 
by  boat  with  the  sheriff. 

Leaving  the  children  in  charge,  I  went  with 
the  sheriff.  Nothing  was  proved.  The  case 
was  therefore  laid  over  until  the  next  meeting 
of  the  court,  three  months  later,  and  I  was  put 
under  bonds. 

I  had  appeared  at  court,  with  three  witnesses. 
After  being  detained  for  seventeen  days,  our 
presiding  elder  wrote  to  the  judge  asking  why 
it  was  that  I  was  kept  so  long  without  anything 
being  done.  The  judge  wrote  back  that  I 
could  go  home  if  I  liked.  I  took  the  first  boat 
home,  for  my  work  was  suffering,  as  there  was 
no  competent  person  in  charge.  I  found  all 
well  and  everything  in  order.  But  it  was  a 
real  Paul  and  Silas  case  ! 

The  foreman  or  "captain"  of  the  jury  was 
a  Christian  man  who  could  sympathize  with 


192      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


me  in  my  work  among  the  people.  He  said 
tliat  he  had  learned  by  trying  experience  that 
the  government  did  not  always  help  the  Chris- 
tians. He  advised  me  if  I  had  any  trouble  of 
the  kind  again  to  just  move  it  off  the  mission 
grounds,  and  then  no  one  would  say  anything. 

These  were  trying  days.  How  often  it  is 
that  a  missionary  is  called  upon  to  bear  one 
burden  after  another,  until  it  does  not  seem 
possible  to  endure  another  !  But  always  when 
we  reach  this  point  relief  comes  in  some  unex- 
pected way.  This  has  been  my  experience ; 
and  to-day  I  praise  God  for  all  the  past  and 
trust  him  for  the  future. 


Sasswood  Palaver. 


193 


CHAPTER  XII. 

SASSWOOD  PALAVER. 

Death  of  the  Two  Brothers. —The  "  Quee." — A  Woman 
Endures  the  Test. — Witch-hunting  Women. — Palaver. — 
"We  Will  Give  Everybody  Sasswood." — "Let's  Give 
Them  Some  Water."— The  "White  Plate"  of  Peace. 

WHEN  the  Cape  Palmas  and  Rock  Town 
people  were  at  war  a  young  man  from 
Garraway  went  to  look  on,  and,  standing  too 
near,  was  shot  in  the  leg.  After  a  few  weeks 
he  died.  His  brother,  who  came  home  to  see 
him,  got  there  just  a  few  hours  after  he  was 
buried.  He,  in  turn,  had  not  been  home  more 
than  ten  days  when  he  was  taken  sick  and 
soon  died.  For  two  brothers,  strong  young 
men,  to  be  taken  within  a  few  weeks  in  this 
way  was  an  occasion  of  superstition  among  the 
people.  They  all  believed  that  some  witch 
had  been  the  cause  of  their  death,  although 
they  say  when  a  person  dies  that  "  God  took 
him." 

The  morning  after  the  last  young  man  died 
we  went  to  town.  They  had  made  up  a  bed 
with  boxes,  spread  his  mat  on  them,  and  laid 
him  out  there.    The  body  was  washed  and  the 


194      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

face  streaked  witli  paint.  A  large  new  cloth 
had  been  put  over  him  ;  beads  were  strung 
about  his  neck;  a  pipe  lay  on  his  chest,  with 
the  stem  toward  his  mouth,  and  a  comb  by  his 
head.  They  had  built  a  canopy  over  him  for 
shade,  and  for  decorating  used  cloth  of  all 
kinds  and  colors,  hats,  caps,  coats,  and  umbrel- 
las. Tables  and  stands  were  set  around  the 
house,  with  looking-glasses,  pictures,  and  all 
kinds  of  fancy  and  common  dishes  on  them— a 
regular  variety  store,  as  it  looked. 

As  we  approached  the  town  we  heard  the 
call  of  the  *' Quee  " — a  secret  society  of  men, 
called  by  some  "the  Devil  Society,"  though 
the  native  name  is  "  Quee."  We  knew  when 
we  heard  them  that  they  would  not  bury  the 
man  without  palaver,  and  most  likely  would 
accuse  some  one  and  compel  him  or  her  to 
drink  the  sasswood.  We  went  at  once  to  the 
headman  of  the  Quee,  and  I  begged  him  not  to 
give  sasswood.  He  was  in  a  great  hurry,  and 
did  not  want  to  be  talked  to;  but  I  caught  his 
arm  and  held  him  with  both  my  hands.  I 
knew  him  well.  At  last  he  said  he  would  not 
allow  sasswood  to  be  given.  I  asked  him  if  he 
meant  it,  and  he  said  he  did. 

Several  men  came  to  persuade  me  not  to 
have  anything  to  do  with  the  case,  and  wished 
to  shut  me  up  in  a  house.    But  I  said,  "  Don't 


Sasswood  Palaver. 


195 


anybody  dare  put  his  hands  on  mc."  I  knc-w 
that  if  they  once  took  hold  of  mc  they  would 
soon  put  nic  into  a  house  ;  for  it  was  ai^ainst 
their  custom  for  a  woman  to  see  or  be  seen 
while  the  Quee  was  out,  and  I  was  the  only 
woman  now  outdoors,  all  the  native  women 
being  shut  up  in  their  houses  and  not  daring 
to  open  the  door  till  they  received  permission 
from  the  society.  If  a  woman  sees  the  Quee 
she  has  to  pay  a  heavy  fine,  and  all  the  women 
and  girls  arc  afraid  to  go  out  while  the  Quee  is 
at  work,  for  they  are  taught,  and  believe,  that 
it  is  really  the  devil  that  has  come  to  town.  It 
is  only  the  warriors,  of  course,  dancing,  sing- 
ing, and  beating  drums  and  cymbals  ;  and  the 
devil  is  a  man  blowing  a  whistle  with  a  peculiar 
note. 

I  started  back  to  where  the  corpse  was.  On 
my  way  I  came  to  where  the  chiefs  were  talk- 
ing, and  I  sat  down  with  them  and  listened. 
They  spoke  very  encouragingly  for  a  few  min- 
utes, as  if  they  had  determined  not  to  resort 
to  the  sasswood,  then  turned  to  me  and  said: 

"  Teacher,  do  you  hear  what  we  say?  " 

"  Yes,"  I  answered, "  and  if  you  do  as  you  say 
here  and  not  give  any  sasswood  I  shall  be  very 
glad." 

They  all  rose  up  to  go  to  where  the  corpse 
was,  but  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  me,  for 


196      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


the  Quee  had  now  passed  through  the  town 
and  gone  to  ask  the  dead  body  who  had  killed 
him.    I  saw  they  were  confused  and  said  : 

"  Come  on,  I  am  going,  too." 

"  O  no,"  they  replied.  "Woman  no  fit  to  go 
there  to  day.  Don't  you  see  all  women  go  in- 
side ?    You  must  go  inside." 

"  No,"  I  said,  "  I  can't  go  in  any  house  to- 
day ;  I  am  going  to  see  what  you  men  are 
doing." 

I  then  led  the  way.  Some  said  to  me,  "  No, 
don't  go  there."  But  I  laughed,  and  then  they 
laughed.  We  walked  along,  I  about  two  steps 
ahead  of  them,  till  we  came  close  to  the  place. 
They  had  run  a  rope  and  hung  cloth  over  it, 
thus  inclosing  a  small  yard,  and  inside  this  the 
Quee  was  at  work.  As  soon  as  they  saw  me 
some  called  out,  "  O,  there  is  teacher!"  I 
said,  "Yes,  and  who  is  this?" 

With  that  I  drew  the  curtain  aside  and 
shoved  my  way  through  the  warriors,  who  were 
seated  in  a  circle  inside  the  curtain.  They 
hushed  the  devil  and  got  him  out  of  the  ring. 
Some  scolded,  some  proposed  to  carry  me  into 
the  house,  and  some  laughed.  I  marched 
round  the  circle  and  said  that  I  had  come  to 
bury  the  man,  and  that  it  was  time  now  to  carry 
him  to  the  grave.  Some  of  the  men  took  hold 
of  my  arm  and  said,  "Come  and  sit  down, 


Sasswood  Palaver.  197 


teacher;  come  inside,  the  sun  is  too  hot."  But 
I  told  them  tliat  I  had  not  come  to  sit  down, 
and  that  I  had  an  umbrella.  I  told  them  how 
foolish  it  was  to  have  such  a  performance  over 
a  dead  man,  and  that  we  all  must  die,  and  then 
preached  Jesus  to  them.  Meantime,  the  Quee 
had  removed  into  a  house  and  were  going 
through  their  performances  there.  After  giv- 
ing them  enough  for  a  funeral  sermon  I  went 
into  a  house  for  a  few  minutes  for  a  drink  of 
water,  and  then  came  back  and  sat  down  u  ith 
the  kings  and  chiefs. 

They  told  me  that  it  was  the  devil  that  was 
causing  the  wonderful  excitement  and  making 
the  queer  noise. 

"  No,"  answered  I ;  "  I  can  tell  you  who  it 
is." 

"Who  is  it?"  they  asked,  supposing  I  did 
not  know,  because  the  identity  of  the  man  who 
impersonates  the  devil  is  a  great  secret  among 
them. 

"  It  is  Zanier  "  (Butterfly),  I  replied;  "  that 
is  his  house,"  pointing  to  it. 

The  kings  were  much  surprised,  and  said  : 

"Just  look;  teacher  knows  everything! 
Who  has  been  to  tell  you  ?" 

"  It  is  not  hard  to  tell  who  that  is,"  said  I. 
"  It  is  not  a  secret.  It  is  not  you  only  who  do 
this  kind  of  fashion.    The  time  I  went  up  Ca- 


198       A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


valhi  River  I  saw  the  people  do  this,  and  the 
man  we  took  as  a  guide  to  the  Falls  was  the 
man  who  played  '  devil.'  We  sat  in  town  and 
saw  it  all.  When  we  would  not  go  into  the 
house  they  covered  him  w  ith  a  blanket,  and 
when  they  were  through  they  carried  him  out 
into  the  bushes  and  he  soon  came  round  the 
other  side  ready  to  go  with  us,  and  we  all  started 
up  the  river." 

The  kings  and  chiefs  all  laughed  and 
thought  it  a  fine  joke,  but  said  that  I  must  not 
tell  the  women.  I  did  not  make  any  prom- 
ises. 

Soon  a  young  man  came  to  tell  me  that  they 
had  taken  a  woman  to  give  her  sasswood.  I 
went  out  in  the  bush  where  they  were.  Some 
of  the  younger  men  were  there,  but  none  of 
the  headmen  who  had  authority  to  stop  the 
proceedings.  As  the  younger  men  would  not 
be  persuaded,  but  said  that  unless  the  "big" 
men  sent  them  word  they  could  not  let  the 
woman  go,  I  left  them  and  went  into  the  town 
to  find  the  headmen.  I  had  been  in  town  only 
a  few  minutes  when  they  brought  in  the 
woman.  She  had  drank  the  sasswood — three 
basinfuls — and  carried  the  wooden  basin  in  her 
hand.  The  driver  behind  her  had  the  pot  in 
which  the  liquid  had  been  mixed,  and  he  cried 
out,  "  A  witch  !  a  witch  !  a  witch  !  " 


SASSWOOI)  I'AI.AVIsK. 


199 


About  three  o'cloclv  iu  the  afternoon  Lhey 
buried  the  man  ;  and  the  accused  woman  vom- 
ited the  sasswood  before  nigiit.  But  they 
would  not  admit  that  she  was  innocent,  and 
took  lier  back  to  drink  more  next  morning.  I 
did  not  go.  But  tlie  Christian  men  from  our 
"  Zion  "  vilhige  and  some  of  the  kings  went  to 
beg  for  the  woman;  and  they  let  her  go  and 
did  not  give  her  any  more  sasswood.  The  Quec 
concluded  to  let  the  matter  drop. 

After  several  days  had  passed  the  women 
themselves  took  up  the  case.  They  said  that 
the  men  did  not  have  "a  strong  heart  "  to  do 
anything,  so  they  were  going  to  find  the  witch. 
There  is  no  regular  society  among  the  women, 
like  the  Quee  ;  but  they  all  join  together  when 
they  wish  to  accomplish  anything,  and  the  men 
are  afraid  of  them,  for  they  say  that  the 
women  are  stronger  witches  than  the  men. 

One  evening  while  still  in  this  town  we  were 
disturbed  after  retiring  by  some  person  at  the 
door  calling  the  woman  of  the  house.  She  lay 
asleep  on  he-r  mat,  with  her  infant  by  her. 
Being  awakened,  she  answered  the  call  and 
opened  the  door  to  see  who  it  was.  As  she 
did  so  I  saw  several  persons  there,  and  heard 
them  call  out,  "  Whee!  whee !  "  She  went  out, 
shutting  the  door  after  her,  and  they  all  went 
off.    This  was  new  to  me.    I  called  one  of  the 


200      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


girls  and  asked  what  it  meant.  At  first  she 
did  not  know  ;  but  after  hstening  to  the  con- 
versation of  the  people  outside  she  said  they 
were  catching  people  to  give  them  sasswood. 

At  that  moment  the  family  with  whom  we 
were  staying  rushed  into  the  house,  threw 
themselves  on  the  floor,  and  began  to  cry.  We 
got  up  and  dressed.  I  went  out  to  find  Scere, 
whose  house  we  were  in  and  whose  wife  they 
had  taken.  He  told  me  that  they  had  caught 
five  persons.  Everybody  was  quiet,  fearing 
what  would  come  next,  and  daring  to  tell  me 
hardly  anything. 

I  induced  a  young  man,  a  son  of  one  of  the 
women  they  had  caught,  who  was  sitting  on 
the  ground  crying,  to  go  with  me  to  Zion  vil- 
lage. I  wished  to  see  our  Christian  people, 
who  would  be  able  to  explain  their  custom  of 
administering  the  sasswood.  We  woke  them 
up,  and  they  said  : 

"  Well,  we  never  saw  our  people  give  sass- 
wood at  night.  If  they  do  it  will  be  a  new 
thing.  They  will  keep  the  prisoners  till  morn- 
ing. The  women  do  not  dare  to  give  them 
sasswood  privately,  or  the  people  would  say 
they  had  killed  them.  There  will  not  be  any- 
thing done  till  morning.  But  it  is  evident 
they  mean  to  kill  some  person." 

They  told  me  that  in  Fish  Town,  fifteen 


Sasswood  Palaver.  201 


miles  away,  they  had  killed  nine  people  with 
sasswood  in  one  day. 

We  all  expected  a  serious  time,  and  perhaps 
several  deaths.  We  were  very  sad;  but  noth- 
ing could  be  done  until  morning.  So  I  re- 
turned to  the  town,  and  found  they  had  caught 
four  more  after  I  left,  and  that  all  the  nine 
had  been  taken  to  other  towns  and  put  under 
guard  till  the  next  day.  The  women  being 
gone  out  of  the  house  where  we  stayed,  I  did 
not  expect  any  breakfast  there,  so  asked  a 
neighbor  to  cook  some  cassada  for  me.  Then 
we  went  back  to  bed. 

We  could  not  sleep  and  were  all  up  very 
early.  The  poor  babe  had  cried  for  its 
mother  all  night.  After  going  through  the 
town  to  see  what  was  going  on  and  what 
could  be  done,  I  was  called  to  breakfast.  The 
man — Hemic — whom  I  had  asked  to  cook  it 
for  me,  had  a  good  meal  ready  of  palm  butter, 
fish,  and  rice. 

Our  Christians  all  gathered  together,  and 
we  started  for  the  place  where  the  people  were 
assembling  to  give  the  sasswood.  Upon  en- 
tering the  town  where  the  victims  were  I  went 
into  a  house,  not  knowing  that  the  head 
women  were  assembled  there  to  arrange  for 
the  palaver.  They  looked  at  me,  and  some 
said,  "What  shall  we  do  now?    Teacher  has 


202      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


come,  and  we  don't  want  her  to  know."  An- 
other said,  "  O,  she  can't  understand  what  we 
say  ;  let  us  go  on."  Another  said,"  Yes,  she 
does;  let  us  go  to  another  town."  I  said, 
in  their  language,  for  the  women  cannot  un- 
derstand English,  "  Yes,  I  hear  what  you 
say,  and  that  is  just  what  I  have  come  for; 
so  you  may  as  well  talk  away." 

Then  they  all  rose  up  in  great  confusion  and 
said  they  would  go  to  the  next  town,  and  they 
all  started  to  run.  I  said  :  "All  right,  I  will  go 
there.  That  is  all  I  have  to  do  to-day — ^justto 
follow  you  around  and  see  what  you  are 
doing."  Soon  they  were  out  of  sight.  We 
gathered  together  and  went  to  the  town 
whither  the  Avomen  had  now  gone,  and  where 
the  people  were  going  to  give  the  sasswood. 
We  walked  along  very  slowly,  feeling  very  sad 
and  helpless  and  expecting  to  have  our  hearts 
made  still  more  sad  by  the  death  of  one  or 
more  of  the  prisoners,  all  of  whom  I  knew, 
and  some  of  whom  were  my  special  friends. 

When  we  reached  the  ground  the  people 
were  flocking  in  and  seating  themselves  in 
companies.  The  victims  were  by  themselves. 
The  kings  and  the  chiefs  who  had  come  to, 
plead  for  the  lives  of  the  accused  were  in  an- 
other group;  and  the  relatives  of  the  victims 
in  still  another,  crying.    The  women  who  had 


SaSSWOOD  PaLAVI'R. 


203 


the  case  in  hand  came  from  six  different  towns, 
and  had  divided  themselves  up  into  many 
companies,  that  those  vvlio  came  to  plead  for 
the  victims  might  get  tired  going  round  to 
them  all,  and  so  give  it  up. 

We  went  off  under  the  shade  of  a  tree  by 
ourselves,  and  knelt  down  to  ask  God  to  help 
us  in  this  time  of  great  need  ;  for  we  felt  that 
we  did  not  know  where  to  begin  or  what  to 
say  that  might  have  effect.  We  sat  there  a 
few  minutes  and  watched  them  get  ready  to 
beat  the  sasswood. 

One  of  the  kings  arose  and  went  to  beg  the 
women  not  to  give  the  sasswood  ;  but  they  re- 
fused to  hear  and  kept  up  a  noise  so  that  his 
voice  could  not  be  heard. 

They  then  brought  forth  one  of  the  victims 
— a  woman — and  poured  out  some  of  the  sass- 
wood. One  of  the  men  got  up  and  talked,  but 
there  was  no  listener.  The  women  began,  two 
by  two,  to  come  up  to  the  victim,  who  had  the 
sasswood  before  her,  ring  a  bell  in  her  ear,  and 
order  her  to  drink  the  sasswood. 

One  of  our  men  said,  "  I'll  interpret  any- 
thing you  say  to-day."  So  I  got  up  and  went 
forward  among  the  rest.  We  went  to  one 
company  of  the  accusers,  and  they  said,  "  Go 
to  the  others."  We  went  to  all,  and  then  to 
the  victims,  asking  them  not  to  drink  the  sass- 


204      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


wood,  and  assuring  them  that  if  they  did  not 
do  it  themselves  the  people  could  not  make 
them.  But  waiting  to  have  everything  inter- 
preted was  too  slow  work  for  that  day ;  so  I 
broke  out  into  the  native  lanjjuatre,  and  the 
ridiculousness  of  it  all  came  before  me,  and  I 
began  to  laugh  at  it  all. 

The  kings  begged,  and  the  Zion  men  talked 
to  everybody  that  would  listen.  I  went  to  the 
young  men  who  were  beating  the  sasswood, 
and  said:  "Let  me  help  you.  We  will  give 
everybody  sasswood  to-day.  You  have  not 
half  enough  sasswood  in  the  mortar.  Let  me 
put  in  some  more.  Why,  is  this  all  the  sass- 
wood you  have  brought?  That  won't  be  half 
enough.  You  must  send  some  men  to  the 
bush  to  get  more.  Don't  you  see  all  these 
people?"  The  men  stood  up  and  laughed, 
and  could  not  understand  me. 

I  went  to  the  victim,  who  was  sitting  over 
the  basin  of  sasswood,  and,  after  tasting  it, 
said  to  her:  "  It  is  not  nice.  Don't  drink  it. 
It  will  kill  you.  We  will  not  get  tired  of  beg- 
ging for  you."  Then,  going  to  the  women 
who  were  ringing  the  bells,  I  said  :  "  I  am  sure 
you  must  be  tired.  Let  me  ring  the  bell  a- 
while."  The  kings  were  weary  from  their  ef- 
forts to  save  the  victims,  and  declared  that  they 
would  not  permit  the  women  to  give  the  sass- 


Sasswood  Palaver.  205 


wood  to  two  of  the  prisoners,  who  belonged  to 
another  tribe,  and  whom  they  were  going  to 
take  to  town.  So  they  took  the  two,  saying 
that  the  women  might  do  what  they  would 
with  the  rest. 

We  sang  and  preached  Jesus,  and  told  the 
people  of  the  better  way,  begging  them  to 
choose  that  day  which  way  was  the  best.  A 
man  in  the  company  sent  word  to  me  to  be 
strong  and  not  to  let  the  victims  drink  the 
sasswood. 

I  asked  the  women  if  they  themselves  had 
drunk  sasswood  in  town  that  morning.  "No," 
they  said.  I  told  them  I  knew  they  did  not 
like  it,  and  that  it  was  for  the  same  reason  that 
the  victims  did  not  want  it.  They  were 
amused  at  the  mistakes  I  made  in  speaking 
their  language,  and  some  of  them,  though 
vexed  at  me,  could  not  help  laughing,  and 
talked  quite  sensibly  to  me. 

The  sun  was  very  hot,  and  everybody  began 
to  get  tired  ;  but  still  the  first  woman  sat  with 
the  basin  of  sasswood  untasted  before  her. 
They  brought  another  woman  and  gave  her  a 
bowl  of  it.  They  began  to  urge  the  two 
women  to  drink  it,  as  they  were  getting  hun- 
gry and  wished  to  go  home  and  cook  their 
meals.  So  we  said  :  "  Go,  and  bring  the  pots 
and  rice  here  and  cook  it.  We  are  not  going 
14 


2o6      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


to  town  to-day.  We  are  going  to  drink  sass- 
wood,  and  you  need  not  be  in  a  hurry.  Look, 
Garraway  people  have  stopped  '  cutting  farm.' 
See  them  all  here  to-day.  They  do  not  in- 
tend to  have  a  rice  farm  this  year.  If  they 
drink  sasswood  and  kill  all  the  witches  they 
won't  be  sorry,  if  they  don't  see  any  rice  and 
palm  butter." 

At  this  point  I  was  called  aside  by  one  of 
the  men,  who  said  that  a  boat  had  just  come 
from  the  Cape  bringing  our  supplies  for  the 
year,  and  word  that  Brother  Nichols,  the  teacher 
in  the  seminary,  who  had  been  very  ill  and  had 
left  a  few  weeks  ago  to  go  to  the  island  for  his 
health,  had  died  on  board  the  ship  and  been 
buried  at  sea  near  Sierra  Leone  ;  also,  that 
Brother  Garwood,  on  the  Cavalla  River,  had 
been  drowned.  I  stopped  for  a  minute,  then 
said  to  the  man  :  "God  has  taken  them,  and  her 
will  soon  be  here  for  me.  Let  me  do  what  I 
can  while  I  live.    They  are  gone  now." 

I  went  into  the  midst  of  the  people  and  told 
them  what  I  had  heard,  saying,  "  Nobody  will 
think  of  drinking  sasswood  for  them.  All 
kinds  of  people  die,  and  we  who  are  here  will 
soon  die  too."  Then  I  said  :  "  This  sasswood  is 
hot.  These  people  cannot  drink  it.  Let  us  give 
them  some  water."  Everybody  was  becoming 
quiet.    So  I  poured  out  the  sasswood,  washed 


Sasswood  Palaver.  207 


out  the  bowl,  put  sonic  water  in  it,  and  said, 
"  Perhaps  they  will  drink  that." 

A  man  in  the  crowd,  fearing  that  I  might  get 
the  prisoners  to  drink  the  water,  sent  me  word 
not  to  let  them.  I  went  back  and  said:  "This 
water  is  not  fresh.  It  has  been  here  all  day. 
Let  us  pour  it  out,  and  go  to  town  and  get 
frcsli  water."  I  emptied  the  water  out  of  the 
bowl  and  pot,  and  put  the  bowl  on  top  of  the 
pot  and  the  pestle  on  top  of  the  mortar — the 
people  looking  on,  glad,  I  presume,  to  see  an 
end  of  it  all. 

I  said  :  "  Somebody  can  carry  these  things. 
Come  to  town.  We  are  all  hungry."  I  took 
the  victims  by  the  hand,  raised  them  up,  and 
we  all  started  for  the  town.  On  the  way 
we  met  some  of  the  older  women,  and  they 
were  angry  and  scolded  ;  but  we  all  crowded  on 
into  town.  Some  of  the  people  thanked  us  as 
we  walked  along,  some  laughed,  and  others 
scolded.  We  passed  on  to  the  second  town, 
the  men  taking  several  of  the  victims  to  Zion. 
The  rest,  lost  in  the  crowd,  found  their  way  to 
their  own  houses. 

I  went  to  Scere's  house  to  wash  my  face, 
which  was  spotted  red  and  white  from  the 
scorching  sun.  My  feet  were  blistered.  After 
a  wash,  and  after  becoming  somewhat  cooled 
off  and  having  something  to  eat,  I  went  to  the 


2o8      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


mission  to  see  about  the  goods  which  had  come 
by  boat.  I  had  to  pay  off  the  carriers  wlio  had 
been  helping  the  boys;  but  the  boys  had  done 
very  well,  and  had  all  the  things  stowed  away. 

Toward  evening  we  all  went  to  take  the  ac- 
cused women  who  were  in  Zion  to  town.  We 
took  them  to  the  headman's  house,  and  he 
called  the  rest  of  the  principal  men.  We  told 
them  that  these  were  the  women  who  had  been 
taken  to  drink  sasswood  in  the  morning,  and 
that  we  had  rescued  them,  and  now  brought 
them  to  their  own  houses.  They  thanked  us, say- 
ing that  we  had  done  well,  and  that  they  were 
glad  we  had  done  so,  and  that  we  must  do  so 
always.  We  then  took  the  women  to  their  own 
houses. 

I  had  narrowly  escaped  a  sunstroke.  Even 
yet,  when  the  sun  is  hot  I  have  a  severe  head- 
ache from  this  day's  exposure. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday.  I  had  slept  in 
Scere's  house  ;  and  before  I  was  up  the  women 
came  in  one  after  another  to  thank  me  for  what 
I  had  helped  to  do  for  the  people,  shaking  my 
hand  and  pulling  my  arm  as  expressions  of  their 
gratitude.  I  do  not  think  that  since  I  went  to 
Africa  I  have  shaken  hands  with  more  people 
at  one  time  than  I  did  that  morning.  I  then 
took  the  children  and  went  home  to  have  a 
quiet  day. 


Sasswood  Palaver. 


209 


In  the  afternoon  Sccrc  came  up  to  sec  me. 
He  told  me  tliat  after  we  had  come  home  the 
head  women  of  all  the  towns  went  to  the  kind's 
house,  taking  with  them  a  china  plate.  They 
begged  his  pardon  for  what  they  had  done,  and 
assured  him  that,  since  they  were  convinced  that 
the  king's  family,  to  which  all  the  victims  be- 
longed, had  joined  the  mission,  they  would 
never  again  take  them  for  sasswood.  Finally 
they  had  given  the  king  the  white  plate  as  a 
sign  of  peace  between  them  and  as  a  pledge  of 
their  word. 


2IO      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


Naming  a  Child. — Peculiar  Treatment  of  Young  Children. — 
Native  Jewelry. — Learning  to  Work. — Marriage  Customs. 
— Domestic  Duties. — Outdoor  Work.  —  Harvest  Feasts. — 
Building  Houses. — Fishing. — Women  in  Public  Life. 

"\  717 HEN  a  child  is  born  in   Liberia  some 


Y  Y  member  of  the  family  is  sent  at  once 
to  the  devil-doctor  to  inquire  who  it  is  and 
what  its  name  shall  be. 

The  devil-doctor's  deeds  are  all  done  in  the 
dark.  He  goes  up  into  the  housetop,  which 
is  a  small  windowless  attic  used  as  a  store- 
room and  rice  granary.  He  takes  with  him 
the  cowhorn.  This  he  blows  to  call  the 
devil;  and  the  devil  is  supposed  to  tell  who 
it  is  that  has  come  back  to  this  world.  For 
the  people  believe  that  every  newborn  child 
is  some  deceased  meinber  of  the  family  who 
has  returned  to  life  among  them.  It  some- 
times receives  the  same  name  it  had  before, 
and  sometimes  the  name  is  changed. 

When  the  devil-doctor  has  blown  his  horn 
long  enough  to  call  the  devil  and  receive  an 
answer  he  begins  to  tell  whose  child  it  is  by 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


THE  AFRICAN  WOMAN. 


TiiK  African  Woman. 


211 


describin<j  tlic  parents.  Sometimes  he  has 
already  heard  of  the  birth  and  knows  the 
family;  but  it  sometimes  happens  that  he  has 
had  to  guess,  in  which  case  he  often  makes 
serious  mistakes.  The  people  do  not  always 
believe  in  him  ;  but  it  is  their  custom  to  con- 
sult him,  and  it  is  hard  to  break  it  up. 

After  finding  out  who  the  parents  are,  and 
whether  the  child  is  a  boy  or  a  girl,  the  devil- 
doctor  goes  on  to  describe  it.  The  inquirer 
must  come  prepared  to  pay  for  the  information 
with  plates,  cloth,  and  tobacco.  The  devil- 
doctor  may  say,  for  example,  that  the  child  is 
(or  was)  the  mother  of  a  certain  man  named 
Scere.  In  that  case  she  will  be  called  Sccrc-day, 
or  Scere's  mother,  day  meaning  "  mother." 
If  the  child  is  a  boy  it  will,  perhaps,  be  de- 
clared to  be  some  great  man  who  has  died  ; 
and  if  so  the  babe  will  be  much  respected. 

When  a  son  was  born  to  Kalenky — one  of 
our  chief  men — the  father  sent  to  the  devil- 
doctor  to  inquire  who  it  was  that  had  returned 
to  the  earth.  The  doctor  said  it  was  a  great 
warrior  named  Wear,  and  that  they  must 
train  him  for  war,  as  he  had  come  to  protect 
them. 

When  this  was  told  to  the  father  he  brought 
a  gun,  a  powder  case,  a  shot  bag,  a  war  dress, 
and  a  fringe  for  the  waist  made  from  palm  leaf. 


212      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


charms  for  the  head,  neck,  arms,  waist,  knees, 
and  ankles,  and  another  peculiar  charm  in  the 
shape  of  a  cake  of  soap.  This  last,  moistened 
with  a  little  water,  was  to  be  rubbed  with  the 
hands  on  the  infant's  skin.  They  say  it 
toughens  the  skin  so  that  no  shot  can  pierce 
it ;  and  a  soldier  that  has  this  charm  need  not 
fear  the  enemy.  All  these  things  were  brought 
and  laid  on  a  mat  by  the  side  of  an  infant  but 
a  few  hours  old. 

I  have  sometimes  seen  infants  without  any- 
thing on  their  bodies,  not  even  the  string  of 
beads  which  they  think  so  necessary.  A  child 
usually  wears  one  of  these  about  its  neck, 
several  around  its  waist,  and  others  on  its 
wrists  and  ankles.  When  it  is  a  few  days  old 
its  ears  are  pierced,  and  small  rings  are  put  in, 
or,  if  the  rings  cannot  be  had,  a  piece  of  fine 
wire  or  a  cotton  thread. 

The  child  is  washed  three  and  four  times  a 
day  in  hot  water,  and  rubbed  with  a  white 
mixture  like  paint.  Every  morning  when  it  is 
washed  several  of  the  older  women  are  called 
in.  Some  of  them  are  very  competent,  and 
they  take  charge  of  the  babe.  A  young 
mother  is  never  left  with  the  care  of  her  child. 
These  nurses  may  be  seen  any  morning 
sitting  on  one  of  their  common  "  chairs," 
which  is  no  more  than  a  stick  of  stove  wood — 


The  African  Woman.  213 

outdoors  if  it  is  warm,  otherwise  in  the  house — 
with  a  pepper  board  by  their  side.  They  will 
rub  one  of  their  fingers  in  the  pepper  on  the 
board,  tlien  thrust  it  as  far  down  the  child's 
throat  as  possible,  and  rub  and  stretch  the 
throat  thoroughly  until  the  poor  child  is  al- 
most strangled  and  throws  up  all  tiiat  is  in 
its  stomach.  This  looks  like  unmerciful  treat- 
ment ;  but  they  believe  it  necessary  to  the 
child's  health  and  strength.  The  child  is  then 
given  an  injection  of  some  herb,  and  laid 
down  to  sleep  on  its  little  mat  on  the  floor  by 
the  fire.  Many  infants  die  very  young,  and 
I  fear  that  this  severe  treatment  is  sometimes 
to  blame. 

When  the  child  gets  to  be  nine  or  ten 
months  old  small  bells  are  tied  to  its  person, 
at  its  wrists,  waist,  and  ankles.  These  are 
intended  to  coax  it  to  walk.  When  it  moves 
the  bells  will  tinkle.  Pleased  by  the  sound, 
it  will  be  induced  to  make  another  move- 
ment, and  so  will  learn  to  go  alone.  The 
mother  at  this  time  will  take  her  child  to  the 
devil-doctor,  and  he  will  make  a  charm  for  it 
which  will  be  tied  around  the  waist. 

When  the  child  begins  to  walk  they  put  on 
its  ankles  the  native  "  gless " — a  kind  of 
anklet  made  with  several  small  bells  in  each 
ring.    From  six  to  ten  of  these  are  put  on 


214 


A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


each  ankle.  No  child  is  .supi)os(-'d  to  learn  to 
walk  without  these  assistants. 

But  to  return  to  the  children  one  sometimes 
sees  not  dressed  in  the  usual  way.  I  have 
inquired  the  reason  of  the  mother  when  I 
have  seen  one  of  these  babies  looking  so  un- 
cared  for.  I  have  been  told  that  the  child  is 
supposed  to  be  some  one  who  has  come  from  the 
spirit  world  only  to  find  articles  to  carry  back, 
and  that  if  they  should  dress  it  or  give  it  an)'- 
thing  it  would  not  stay,  but  would  take  the 
things  and  be  gone.  Therefore  they  do  not 
give  it  anything  to  wear ;  and  so,  since  it  has 
nothing  to  take  with  it,  it  is  obliged  to  stay 
here  and  grow  up.  They  hope  that  thus  it 
will  change  its  mind  and  consent  to  live  with  its 
people. 

When  a  girl  is  from  six  to  ten  years  of  age 
she  wears  on  her  forearm  brass  rods,  some- 
times simply  twisted  in  a  spiral,  and  some- 
times bent  into  separate  rings.  These  are  put 
on  halfway  up  to  the  elbow — put  on  with  a 
hammer  to  stay.  They  are  worn  night  and 
day  until  the  flesh  becomes  sore.  Then  they 
may  be  taken  off,  for  the  scars  will  always  be 
there  to  prove  that  she  wore  jewelry  when 
she  was  young. 

If  a  woman  grows  up  without  these  marks 
on  her  arms  it  is  a  lasting  source  of  annoy- 


Children  in  an  African  Rice  Field. 


The  African  Woman. 


217 


ancc  to  Iicr  ;  for  if  her  neighbors  become  vexed 
with  her  and  wish  to  insult  her,  they  cast  it  up 
to  her  tliat  her  mother  was  a  poor  woman  and 
could  not  afford  to  put  jewelry  upon  her  chil- 
dren. This  is  a  great  reproach  to  a  woman, 
as  they  all  aspire  to  be  reputed  wealthy. 

The  little  girls,  as  soon  as  they  are  able  to 
follow  their  mothers  to  the  farm  and  the  bush, 
go  along  to  help  them  ;  and  when  they  are 
quite  small,  not  able  even  to  walk  all  the  way, 
the  little  daughters  may  be  seen  coming  home 
from  the  farm  with  their  mothers.  After  hav- 
ing carried  one  on  her  back  most  of  the  way, 
the  mother  will  put  her  down  to  walk  and 
give  her  a  stick  of  wood  to  carry  on  her  head, 
although  she  is  too  small  to  carry  a  wood 
rack,  or  "  banna." 

The  mother  always  keeps  on  hand  a  small 
waterpot  for  her  little  daughter  to  learn  to 
carry;  and  the  child  may  often  be  seen  com- 
ing along  the  road  before  or  behind  her 
mother,  with  the  water  splashing  over  her 
from'  the  pot,  in  her  first  attempts  to  imitate 
her  mother. 

The  father  will  make  a  little  wood  rack  for 
her,  and  she  will  have  a  small  fanner  for  fan- 
ning rice.  Her  highest  ambitions  are  to  beat 
her  mother's  rice,  carry  a  big  load  of  wood  on 
her  head,  and  have  her  own  farm.    Then  she 


2i8      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

is  considered  by  all  to  be  a  smart  girl  and 
fitted  to  make  a  smart  wife  for  some  man. 

A  girl  is  often  betrothed  at  the  age  of  seven, 
and  sometimes  while  she  is  yet  an  infant  in 
her  mother's  arms.  She  is  sold  to  be  the  wife 
of  whatever  man  may  choose  to  purchase  her. 

At  about  the  age  often  or  twelve  years  she 
is  taken  to  live  with  her  bctrothed's  people, 
where  she  will  be  associated  with  him  and 
learn  "  his  fashion."  She  is  supposed  to  study 
his  wishes  and  live  to  please  him.  Some  of 
the  men  make  slaves  of  their  wives,  and  do 
not  consider  that  any  of  their  wishes  are  to  be 
consulted;  while  others  are  not  so,  but  treat 
their  wives  with  a  great  deal  of  respect  and 
try  to  please  them,  so  that  they  live  very  hap- 
pily together. 

The  girls  in  Africa  reach  mature  womanhood 
much  earlier  than  in  America.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  or  fifteen  they  are  married.  The 
marriage  ceremony  is  very  simple.  When  a 
man  takes  his  betrothed  to  be  his  wife  he  has 
a  fowl  killed  and  some  rice  cooked.  They 
both  partake  of  these,  and  it  is  understood  by 
all  that  the  pair  are  henceforth  man  and  wife. 
They  really  have  no  marriage  ceremony  at  all. 

A  man  generally  has  one  favorite  wife,  or 
head  wife.  A  man  may  choose  his  own  wife  ; 
but  his  family — which  is  the  whole  family  con- 


The  African  Woman. 


219 


ncction — pays  for  her.  Upon  his  dcatli  his 
women,  who  are  family  projoerty,  arc  divided 
up  among  the  other  members.  The  liead 
wife  has  charge  of  all  the  rest,  unless  they 
refuse  to  submit  to  her,  in  which  case  they 
live  entirely  independent  of  her,  while  doing 
their  part  toward  caring  for  the  husband. 

A  man  has  from  three  to  twelve  wives,  ac- 
cording to  his  wealth  and  importance.  If  a 
man  has  the  reputation  of  being  a  good  hus- 
band, he  often  gets  wives  without  paying  for 
them.  They  run  away  from  other  tribes  and 
come  to  him,  hoping  to  better  their  condition. 
But  if  their  lot  turns  out  to  be  no  better  than 
with  their  former  husbands  they  often  go  back 
to  them  again. 

A  man  in  going  off  to  his  work  in  the  morn- 
ing is  never  sure  that  he  will  find  his  wife  at 
home  when  he  returns  in  the  evening.  It  is 
a  common  thing  for  wives  to  run  away  ;  and 
she  is  considered  a  queer  woman  who  at  some 
time  has  not  run  away  from  her  husband  or 
for  some  reason  been  separated  from  him. 

In  going  visiting  a  man  generally  takes  one 
of  his  wives  with  him  to  carry  his  chair,  light 
his  pipe,  get  his  bath  water  ready  for  him,  run 
errands,  and  wait  upon  him  generally. 

Some  of  the  women  are  very  good  house- 
keepers, and  have  a  place  for  everything  and 


220      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

keep  everything  in  its  place  ;  while  others,  like 
some  of  our  civilized  women,  never  seem  to 
have  a  place  for  anything  and  keep  a  very  un- 
tidy house. 

A  good  housewife  in  Africa  will  always  rise 
before  it  is  light  enough  to  see  well.  To  be 
sure,  they  have  no  clocks ;  but  as  the  fowls 
sleep  in  the  house,  on  a  perch  behind  the  fire, 
the  roosters  are  as  good  as  an  alarm  clock,  for 
they  never  fail  to  crow  at  three  o'clock,  and 
again  at  the  break  of  day.  It  is  thus  an  easy 
matter  to  wake  up  at  about  the  same  time 
every  morning — much  easier  than  to  sleep,  for 
the  hens  will  descend  from  their  perch  and 
wander  about,  walking  over  the  sleepers 
stretched  on  the  floor,  unless  some  one  rises 
and  opens  the  door  to  let  them  out. 

I  know  this  to  be  a  fact,  for  I  have  often 
slept  in  the  native  houses.  One  night  five  of 
us  slept  in  a  circular  house  fifteen  feet  in 
diameter,  with  twenty-one  fowls  on  the  perch, 
a  fire  burning,  and  the  doors  shut  tight,  so  as 
not  to  allow  any  witch  to  enter.  It  really  felt 
as  if  there  were  some  witch  inside,  and  I  fear 
there  was  more  there  to  harm  us  than  there 
could  have  been  outside. 

The  first  thing  in  the  morning  after  letting 
the  chickens  out  is  to  light  the  fire,  which  has 
generally  died  out,  or  almost  out,  during  the 


Woman's  Work  in  Africa. 


The  African  Woman. 


223 


night.  The  next  is  to  fill  the  large  pot  with 
bath  water  from  the  waterpot.  While  the 
bath  water  is  being  heated  the  woman  refills 
her  waterpots.  Generally  by  the  time  she  has 
this  done  the  others  arc  up,  and  she  can  sweep 
her  floor.  When  the  bath  water  is  hot  she  has 
her  bath,  taking  with  her,  it  may  be,  her  child 
of  three  years,  who  is  washed  with  the  same 
towel  and  water.  She  combs  her  own  hair, 
as  well  as  that  of  the  child  ;  then,  putting  a 
little  native  perfume  on  her  hands,  rubs  some 
on  her  own  face  and  body.  The  child  is 
treated  in  the  same  way.  She  is  then  ready 
for  the  day's  work. 

The  remnant  of  the  evening  meal  is  warmed 
up  for  breakfast,  often  a  little  cassada  or  some 
other  vegetable  being  cooked  to  eat  with  it. 
After  breakfast  is  eaten,  if  it  is  not  the  rice- 
planting  or  cutting  season,  the  housewife  takes 
her  "  banna  "  (wood  rack)  on  her  head,  and 
her  ax  and  cutlass,  and  with  her  baby  on  her 
back,  goes  to  her  vegetable  farm.  She  weeds 
out  some  of  the  grass,  then  takes  up  some 
vegetables  to  carry  home  with  her,  planting 
new  ones  in  their  place.  Then  gathering  a 
rack-full  of  wood  she  returns  to  the  village. 

Perhaps,  in  the  meantime,  one  of  the  other 
wives  has  given  the  husband  his  morning 
bath,  and  now  it  is  her  turn  to  give  him  water 


224      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


for  his  evening  bath.  In  warm  weather  he 
may  prefer  cold  water ;  but  if  it  is  at  nil  cool 
he  wants  his  bath  hot — and  the  natives  can 
bathe  in  very  hot  water. 

She  then  has  her  rice  to  beat.  It  has  been 
placed  in  the  morning  in  the  rack  over  the  fire 
to  dry.  She  now  takes  it  down,  carefully  pick- 
ing up  every  kernel  that  may  drop,  and  puts 
it  into  her  mortar  and,  with  a  heavy  stick 
about  seven  feet  long  and  as  large  around  as 
she. can  well  hold  in  her  hand,  beats  it  till  she 
can  see  the  chaff  coming  off.  She  then  puts 
it  into  her  fanner  and  fans  it  in  the  wind  till 
the  loose  chaff  is  blown  away.  This  process 
of  beating  and  fanning  is  repeated  until  all  the 
rice  is  cleaned.  Then  she  sits  down  and  picks 
out  all  the  chaff  that  cannot  be  fanned  out, 
and  the  rice  is  ready  for  cooking. 

In  preparing  a  meal  the  rice  is  cooked  first, 
and  taken  off  the  fire  to  simmer  over  some 
coals  that  are  drawn  out  on  the  floor.  Next, 
the  palm  butter  is  made  and  set  aside  to  cool, 
for  no  good  cook  will  serve  food  that  is  hot 
enough  to  burn  one.  Finally  the  vegetables 
are  cooked.  These  are  better  eaten  hot,  and 
therefore  arc  cooked  last.  This  is  all  done 
over  a  single  fire  as  a  rule;  but  in  some  cases, 
when  the  meal  is  wanted  in  a  hurry,  two  fires 
are  lighted,  and  the  dinner  is  soon  ready. 


The  African  Woman. 


225 


Generally,  however,  there  is  no  hurry.  They 
do  nut  eat  the  evening  meal — which  is  dinner 
—  until  dark.  If  it  is  ready  earlier  they  often 
wait  around  until  after  dark  before  catiner  it. 
This  is  the  big  meal  of  the  day.  When  they 
eat  a  hearty  meal  before  retiring,  they  do  with- 
out much  breakfast  in  the  morning,  and  some- 
times with  only  a  very  light  lunch,  and  that 
not  until  late  in  the  day. 

In  "  farm-cutting  "  time  they  cook  a  good 
meal  in  the  morning  for  the  men,  for  the  work 
is  hard.  After  it  has  continued  for  some 
weeks  and  the  men  are  getting  tired  the 
women  prepare  the  breakfast  and  take  it  to 
the  men  in  the  field  about  eleven  o'clock. 

This  period  of  "  farm-cutting  "  is  the  wom- 
an's time  to  obtain  a  supply  of  wood.  Every 
day  she  goes  forth,  and  returns  with  all  the 
wood  she  can  carry,  piling  it  away  neatly  in  the 
wood  rack  to  dry  for  the  rainy  season.  The 
sticks  are  about  two  feet  long  ;  and  most  of 
their  wood  is  cut  from  small  saplings.  With  a 
cutlass,  they  hack  the  stick  all  around,  leaving 
a  little  bit  in  the  center  which  is  broken  off. 
This  leaves  one  end  of  the  stick  of  wood  all 
slivered. 

These  ends  are  all  turned  out  in  the  wood 
rack.  When  the  wood  is  dry  it  lights  readily, 
as  it  is  always  put  into  the  fire  slivered  end 


226      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


first.  A  woman  takes  great  pride  in  having 
her  house  well  stowed  with  wood,  and  when  it 
is  done  feels  as  happy  as  we  do  when  the  bins 
arc  filled  with  the  winter's  coal. 

A  very  ambitious  woman  will  sometimes 
take  her  cutlass  and  go  to  help  her  husband 
cut  farm.  But  as  a  rule  the  women  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  farm  till  it  is  time  for 
the  planting,  which  is  all  done  by  them. 

The  men  build  little  green  booths  on  the 
farm,  where  the  pots  are  often  taken  to  the 
farm.  Sometimes  members  of  the  family 
sleep  there,  and  the  victuals  are  carried  out 
and  cooked  there.  The  women  take  their 
babies,  and  everybody  turns  out  to  plant  rice. 

As  soon  as  the  rice  is  up  they  have  to  watch 
the  ricebirds,  or  they  will  pull  it  all  out  of  the 
ground.  Then  the  grass  begins  to  grow,  as 
the  ground  has  not  been  broken,  and  it  must 
all  be  weeded  out.  The  men  generally  help 
with  this,  as  well  as  in  keeping  the  birds  from 
the  rice. 

When  the  rice  is  ripe  all  hands  turn  out  to 
cut  it,  the  women  being  quite  as  good  at  this 
work  as  the  men.  While  the  men  may  leave 
the  field  for  other  things,  the  women  feel  that 
they  must  be  constantly  there  until  the  rice  is 
all  out. 

When  it  is  cut  and  brought  to  town  the 


The  African  Woman. 


227 


women  begin  to  dance;  and  even  before  the 
harvest  is  finished  the  evening  hours  are  often 
spent  by  the  younger  people  in  having  a  good 
time.  But  after  the  harvest  is  completed  the 
women  especially  spend  several  weeks  in  danc- 
ing and  feasting.  Great  pots  of  rice  are 
cooked,  and  everybody  enjoys  himself. 

The  women  go  on  dancing  parties  from  town 
to  town,  and  are  entertained  by  their  friends. 
Often  a  bullock  is  killed  for  the  visitors,  and 
they  dance  all  night,  and  as  much  of  the  day 
as  they  can  stand  ;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
visitors  to  show  the  same  honor  to  the  hosts 
when  the  visit  is  returned. 

The  last  months  of  the  year  are  spent  in 
house  building.  As  the  native  houses  begin  to 
decay  in  about  five  years  much  time  is  spent 
in  making  repairs.  It  is  a  good  house,  and 
one  that  has  been  well  cared  for,  that  will  last 
fourteen  years.  The  thatch  used  for  roofing 
often  has  to  be  brought  a  long  distance,  and 
always  on  the  head ;  for  the  people  have  no 
wagons  or  carts,  not  even  a  wheelbarrow,  and 
no  roads  except  narrow  footpaths. 

The  men  go  out  to  the  bush,  cut  the  leaves, 
and  start  home  with  them,  and  their  wives 
meet  them  on  the  road  and  carry  the  burden 
the  rest  of  the  way.  The  timbers  of  the  house 
frame  may  also  need  to  be  carried  a  long  dis- 


228      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


tance,  and  a  good  wife  is  often  seen  following 
her  husband  in  the  road,  with  as  heavy  a  load 
of  building  poles  on  her  head  as  he  bears  on 
his. 

When  the  house  is  up  and  the  woodwork 
pretty  well  finished  the  women  begin  to  plas- 
ter. The  walls  are  made  of  narrow  pieces  of 
native  plank  set  on  end,  and  need  a  great  deal 
of  plastering  on  account  of  the  numerous 
holes.  A  woman  seldom  plasters  her  house 
alone,  but  she  will  invite  her  neighbor's  wife  in 
to  help  her,  and  in  turn  will  assist  her  neigh- 
bor when  she  may  be  in  need.  In  this  way  the 
work  is  lightened. 

The  floor  is  the  last  thing  to  be  put  into  a 
house.  The  women  bring  the  mud  or  clay  for 
the  floor.  The  men  often  help  to  beat  it ;  but 
it  has  to  be  washed  over  with  a  substance 
which  they  call  "bleen,"  and  this  the  women 
always  do. 

The  women  can  hardly  be  called  fisher- 
men, as  the  men  consider  that  their  work.  But 
there  are  many  shellfish  that  the  women 
gather,  and  a  very  small  fish  called  "  necklies," 
which  they  catch  with  a  cloth.  Four  women 
go  together  to  fish  in  this  way.  They  wade  out 
into  the  river  until  they  see  a  school  of  these 
fish.  Then  they  arrange  the  cloth  in  the  water, 
two  of  them  holding  it,  while  the  other  two 


The  Ai'RiCAN  Woman.  229 


surrouiul  the  fisli  ;uk1  drive  them  into  the 
cloth,  which  is  then  gathered  up  like  a  net,  and 
the  fish  emptied  out  into  a  brass  kettle  or  a 
bucket  brought  for  the  purpose.  Then  the 
cloth  is  let  down  for  another  draught.  When 
they  are  through  they  divide  the  fish  and  re- 
turn home.  These  are  the  smallest  fish  I  ever 
saw  them  take  for  food,  being  not  over  three 
quarters  of  an  inch  long. 

They  also  set  traps  to  catch  a  fish  resem- 
bling the  cel.  In  time  of  high  water  they  set 
these  traps  in  swamps  or  marshy  places.  Crabs 
are  often  caught  along  with  the  fish,  and  these 
are  generally  dried  and  put  away  for  the  dry 
season,  when  fish  are  not  so  easily  taken. 

In  time  of  war  the  women  are  the  messen- 
gers, as  the  warriors — every  man  is  a  warrior 
— are  not  allowed  to  go  to  the  enemy's 
town.  A  man's  life  would  not  be  safe  ;  but 
the  women  can  go  in  safety,  and,  as  a  rule,  they 
are  allowed  to  return.  Sometimes  they  are  im- 
prisoned ;  but  if  it  is  known  that  they  have 
been  sent  by  the  other  tribe  with  a  message  of 
peace  they  are  generally  well  received  and  al- 
lowed to  return  to  their  homes  in  peace. 

When  a  woman  becomes  old  and  not  able  to 
earn  more  than  her  own  living  the  husband's 
attention  is  generally  devoted  to  his  new  and 
younger  wives,  and  his  first  wife,  now  being 


230      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


neglected,  seeks  a  better  home  among  her  chil- 
dren, generally  with  one  of  her  sons. 

I  remember  one  of  these  neglected  wives,  an 
old  woman,  who  had  lived  for  several  years 
with  her  daughter.  The  daughter  died,  and  the 
old  woman's  husband,  seeing  that  his  first  wife's 
child  had  died  and  that  she  was  now  home- 
less, felt  it  his  duty  to  take  her  back.  He  built 
a  little  home  for  her  near  his  own,  and  sup- 
ported her  in  her  feeble  old  age. 

When  a  woman  dies  all  the  women  turn  out 
to  dance,  for  it  is  a  great  honor  to  the  dead  to 
have  a  good  dance  at  the  funeral.  Since  they 
all  want  to  be  buried  with  honors  they  try  to 
be  present  at  every  dance,  so  that  when  they 
die  themselves  everybody  will  make  an  effort 
to  be  present  and  dance  for  them. 

When  an  old  person  dies  the  natives  never 
say  that  some  one  has  witched  them,  but  that 
their  time  is  finished  and  God  has  taken 
them. 

The  women  exert  great  influence  over  the 
men.  In  their  palavers  they  do  not  generally 
call  on  the  women  to  say  anything  unless  they 
have  a  serious  question  to  settle,  when  they 
call  upon  the  women  to  help  them  decide. 

In  case  of  war,  if  all  the  soldiers  wished  to  go 
and  fight,  and  the  women  rose  up  and  said, 
"  No,  we  are  not  willing,  you  must  not  do  so," 


The  African  Woman. 


231 


they  would  all  be  afraid  to  go,  fearing  defeat ; 
for  they  say,  "  Woman  got  witch  past  man," 
and  they  arc  afraid  to  displease  them  for  fear 
of  being  witched,  and  so  defeated  or  killed. 

Every  town  has  its  head  woman,  and  when 
any  person  has  done  what  the  women  think 
deserves  punishment,  the  men  keep  silence  and 
do  not  interfere.  I  have  scarcely  found  a  single 
man  that  had  courage  enough  to  face  the 
women  at  such  a  time  and  sa}',  "  This  thing 
that  you  are  doing  is  wrong;  it  shall  not  be 
done."  I  have  sometimes  asked  why  it  is  that 
the  men  are  afraid  to  oppose  the  women,  and 
been  told,  "  Well,  woman  is  the  mother  of  man, 
and  we  ought  to  listen  to  her." 

Some  of  the  women  are  remarkably  good 
speakers.  Not  every  woman  would  attempt 
to  rise  in  a  meeting  of  the  people  to  give  her 
reasons  why  certain  things  ought  or  ought  not 
to  be  done.  But  they  have  certain  women  who 
are  recognized  as  public  speakers. 

The  woman  in  our  tribe  who  was  considered 
the  best  speaker  was  called  "  Oueede."  I  have 
seen  her  standing  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd  of 
people  seated  on  the  ground — kings,  chiefs, 
soldiers,  and  women — and  talking  to  them 
with  just  as  much  earnestness  and  decision, 
and  receiving  as  much  attention,  as  any  man  I 
ever  saw. 


232      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


If  the  women  have  anytliing  to  say  they 
meet  by  themselves  and  then  appohit  one  or 
more  of  their  best  talkers  to  speak  for  them  in 
the  general  council. 

Woman  is  not  the  downtrodden  creature  in 
Liberia  that  she  is  in  Lidia  and  many  other 
heathen  lands.  Yet  it  is  harder  to  reach  the 
women  than  the  men.  They  do  not  seem  to 
have  the  same  desire  to  rise  out  of  heathenisrr 
and  receive  Jesus.  This  may  be  from  the  fact 
that  they  have  been  more  confined  to  their 
homes  and  have  not  seen  so  much  of  the 
world,  and  do  not  realize  the  benefits  of  civili- 
zation. But  some  of  the  women  are  coming 
out,  and  they  make  good  workers  when  they 
are  saved. 


Farming.— African  Curios.  233 
CHAPTER  XIV. 

FARMING— AFRICAN  CURIOS. 


A  People  of  One  Occupation. — "Sorrying"  a  Neighbor. — 
"Cutting  Farm." — Rice  Culture. — Vegetable  Gardening. 
— "Casting"  a  Bracelet. — Articles  of  Utility  and  Orna- 
ment. 

T^H  E  natives  of  Liberia  still  work  their  farms 


1  according  to  the  rude  fashion  of  their 
fathers.  They  have  no  plows  or  anything 
with  which  to  break  the  ground,  except  very 
small  hoes.  Every  year  they  "  cut "  or  clear 
a  new  farm — not  always  clearing  off  the  heavy 
timber,  but  generally  that  of  six  or  seven  years' 
growth. 

They  are  all  farmers,  though  they  all  live  in 
the  towns.  There  is,  indeed,  no  other  way  to 
make  a  living.  A  man  maybe  skilled  in  some 
particular  line  of  work — for  instance,  he  may 
be  a  competent  blacksmith  or  maker  of  wicker- 
work  or  house  builder — without  receiving  an 
adequate  support  therefrom.  There  is  no  mar- 
ket or  system  of  exchange  among  them.  A 
man  may  do  much  work  for  his  neighbors  ;  yet 
his  work  will  bring  him  little  or  no  return,  and 
if  he  does  not  have  his  own  farm  he  may  be 
very  poor. 


234      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


Thus,  he  maybe  a  successful  fisherman  ;  and 
yet  it  would  not  pay  him  to  spend  all  his  time 
fishing,  for  his  neighbors,  one  after  another, 
would  come  asking  him  to  "sorry"  them  and 
give  them  "just  a  little  bit"  for  some  soup, 
until  he  would  not  have  enough  left  to 
make  "just  a  little  bit"  of  soup  for  him- 
self, and  so  his  time  would  be  wasted.  If  he 
should  refuse  to  give  to  his  neighbors  when 
they  knew  he  had  "  plenty  fish  "  he  would 
soon  have  their  ill  will  and  not  be  able  to  live 
among  them.  Nor  would  he  have  any  rice 
unless  he  made  his  own  farm. 

For  several  miles  around  the  town  the 
land  is  used  for  farming;  and  about  once 
in  seven  years  the  same  land  is  cut  again,  so 
that  when  it  comes  to  be  used  a  second  time 
there  is  quite  a  growth  of  timber  and  vines 
on  it. 

In  clearing  a  farm  the  first  thing  is  to  go 
over  it  with  the  cutlass  and  cut  all  the  grass 
and  vines  under  the  trees  and  shrubs.  After 
this  is  done  the  vines  on  the  trees  soon  become 
dry.  The  farm  is  then  gone  over  again  and  all 
the  trees  and  shrubs  cut  down  ;  and  as  soon  as 
the  leaves  are  dry  the  land  is  ready  for  the  fire. 

On  a  dry,  windy  day  the  farm  is  set  afire. 
If  it  is  dry  it  will  burn  well,  and  only  the  larger 
shrubs  and  trees  will  be  left.    In  case  it  does 


Farming.— African  Curios.  235 

not  burn  well,  much  work  is  necessary  to  gather 
the  brush  into  piles  and  destroy  it. 

When  all  the  brush  is  burned  they  at  once 
commence  to  plant.  The  women  plant  the 
rice.  With  a  short-handled  hoe  about  two 
inches  wide  they  make  small  holes  in  the 
ground,  and  drop  two  or  three  grains  of  the 
rice  out  of  a  shell  which  they  carry  in  the  left 
hand.  Then  with  the  hoc  they  cover  the  rice, 
and  plant  another  hill  about  four  inches  from 
the  first.  Thus,  the  whole  farm  is  planted,  the 
women  going  around  the  stumps  and  over  the 
small  logs,  and  remaining  in  a  stooping  position 
all  the  time. 

The  springing  plants  must  be  constantly 
watched  from  daylight  until  dark,  or  the  rice- 
birds  will  pull  them  all  up.  They  must  be 
watched  until  they  have  taken  root  so  firmly 
that  the  birds  cannot  pull  them  up.  Nor  will 
the  birds  trouble  them  again  until  they  head 
out  and  begin  to  fill.  Then  for  about  six 
weeks  all  hands  are  again  busy  scaring  off  the 
birds.  It  is  the  work  of  the  boys  especially  to 
get  up  before  day  and  go  to  the  rice  farm,  so 
as  to  be  there  when  the  birds  first  appear,  their 
mothers  sending  their  breakfasts  out  to  them. 
The  boys  throw  stones  at  the  birds  Avith  slings. 

When  the  rice  is  about  six  inches  high  vege- 
tables are  planted  between  the  rows.    When  it 


236      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


is  about  ten  inches  liigh  tlie  farm  is  gone  over 
again,  and  the  weeds  are  pulled  that  have 
grown  up  because  the  land  has  not  been  prop- 
erly cultivated. 

When  the  rice  is  fully  ripe  men,  women,  and 
children  are  kept  busy  harvesting — at  the  same 
time  driving  the  birds  away.  The  rice  is  cut 
with  a  small  knife  made  by  the  native  black- 
smiths. This  is  about  the  size  of  a  penknife; 
and  when  the  people  see  a  penknife  the  first 
thing  they  say  is,  "  O  how  nice  this  would  be 
to  cut  rice  with  !  " 

Standing  erect,  they  cut  one  head  of  grain 
at  a  time,  and  gather  them  into  the  left 
hand  until  they  have  a  handful.  Then  they 
tie  this  with  a  rice  straw  and  lay  it  on  the 
ground.  If  there  are  many  cutting  in  the  same 
field  one  person  is  appointed  to  gather  up  all 
these  handfuls  and  bind  them  into  bunches. 

When  the  rice  is  cut  it  is  left  to  lie  in  the 
field  for  a  short  time  to  season.  This  rice  is 
one  thing  that  is  safe  from  thievery  ;  the  peo- 
ple do  not  steal  what  is  left  in  this  way.  It 
is  considered  a  serious  offense  for  one  to  steal 
even  a  single  bunch  of  it,  and  if  detected  the 
culprit  is  fined  one  bullock. 

When  the  rice  is  taken  to  the  house  where 
it  is  to  be  stored  the  vegetables  are  left  grow- 
ing on  the  farm.    The  women  then  weed  out 


Farming. — African  Curios.  237 

the  grass.  When  the  vegetables  are  grown 
they  are  taken  out  gradually,  enough  for  a  meal 
at  a  time,  and  the  farm  is  allowed  to  go  back 
to  bush  again.  The  next  year  a  new  one  is 
cut  and  worked  in  the  same  manner. 

In  the  interior,  the  natives  have  a  certain 
time  when  the  women  cut  a  small  "  farm,"  as 
they  call  it,  though  it  might  better  be  called  a 
garden.  Here  they  plant  their  pepper,  peas, 
pumpkins,  okra,  eggplants,  and  corn.  Some 
of  them  gather  pepper  and  peas  by  the  bushel, 
bring  them  down  to  the  beach,  and  sell  them 
to  the  people  there,  who  do  not  plant  them  for 
themselves,  as  their  land  is  not  so  good  and 
they  are  often  hindered  by  war. 

Aside  from  these  yearly  farms,  the  people  on 
the  beach  have  a  vegetable  garden  always  kept 
planted.  Each  woman  chooses  a  small  piece 
of  land  near  the  town,  where  she  plants  her 
cassada,  their  most  common  vegetable.  Every 
day,  when  she  goes  for  vegetables  for  the  daily 
meals,  she  plants  others  in  their  places  to  ripen 
for  a  future  day.  On  this  one  patch  are  found 
vegetables  in  all  stages  of  growth.  Thus  she 
always  has  a  supply  of  food,  in  addition  to  the 
yearly  harvest  of  rice. 

In  the  interior,  where  the  land  is  richer  and 
the  people  are  better  off,  they  use  fewer  vege- 
tables, and  eat  rice  morning,  noon,  and  night. 
IG 


238      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


They  say,  "  Vegetables  are  hungry  cliop."  But 
the  people  who  live  in  the  towns  on  the  beach 
are  often  glad  to  get  vegetables  enough  to  sat- 
isfy their  hunger.  Besides  cassada,  there  are 
sweet  potatoes,  yarns,  breadfruit,  and  eddoes. 
These  are  all  good  food,  but  are  not  grown  in 
abundance. 

What  might  be  accomplished  in  Liberia  if 
the  people  cultivated  the  land  and  planted 
every  corner  as  farmers  do  in  America  we  do 
not  know.  But  it  is  certain  that  they  have  a 
rich  country,  and  one  where  there  is  a  constant 
growth  of  vegetation. 

The  absence  of  the  righteousness  that  "  ex- 
alteth  a  nation  "  is  sorely  felt  in  Africa.  The 
sin  that  is  "  a  reproach  to  any  people,"  has 
blighted  that  fair  land.  The  people  are  groan- 
ing to-day  under  the  curse  of  sin  ;  and  nothing 
will  better  their  condition  but  the  blessed  Sav- 
iour who  can  remove  the  curse  from  their 
hearts.  Then  will  their  lives  and  their  land 
show  that  they  have  a  new  King — one  who 
delights  not  in  war  and  blood,  but  would  have 
them  live  as  brethren,  and  their  land  rejoice 
and  blossom  as  the  rose.  Lord,  hasten  the 
day,  and  help  us  to  do  our  part  in  bringing  in 
the  time  when  light,  instead  of  darkness,  and 
song,  instead  of  sighing,  shall  fill  this  fair  Li- 
berian  land  ! 


Farming— African  Curios. 


241 


In  the  accompanying;-  illustration  the  group 
marked  "  i  "  represents  ten  bracelets,  the  num- 
ber usually  worn  upon  one  wrist,  though  I  have 
sometimes  seen  a  larger  number.  They  arc  of 
brass  and  arc  made  by  the  native  blacksmiths. 
The  natives  take  several  kinds  of  metal  out  of 
the  ground,  and  make  tools  and  jewelry. 

In  making  these  bracelets  they  first  form  a 
model  of  beeswax.  On  a  wide  board  which 
he  has  himself  hewn  from  a  log  with  his  ax 
and  cutlass,  the  artist  rolls  the  wax  until  it 
is  cylindrical  in  form  and  of  the  required  size, 
and  adds  the  desired  ornamentation. 

He  then  takes  a  kind  of  clay  found  in  the 
beds  of  running  streams,  mixing  it  to  a  certain 
consistency.  The  wax  model  is  imbedded  in 
the  clay,  with  a  small  stick  inserted  in  each  end. 
He  sets  the  clay  in  the  sun  to  dry.  When  it 
is  thoroughly  dried  he  places  it  in  the  fire, 
leaving  it  there  until  the  clay  is  burned  hard 
and  the  wax  melted.  Then  he  takes  out  the 
two  sticks  and  lets  the  melted  beeswax  run 
out  of  the  holes  in  which  they  were  set,  and 
the  mold  is  ready  for  the  brass. 

Next,  putting  his  brass  in  a  small  earthen 
pot,  he  covers  it  with  charcoal  which  he  has 
made  himself  by  cutting  down  and  burning  a 
hardwood  tree.  With  rude  bellows,  con- 
structed with  wood  and  goatskins  and  worked 


242      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

with  the  hands,  he  blows  the  fire  until  the 
coals  are  glowing  and  the  metal  in  his  crucible 
is  melted. 

For  tongs  he  takes  a  palm  branch  which  is 
elastic  enough  to  answer  his  purpose,  and,  lift- 
ing the  melting  pot  from  the  fire,  pours  the 
liquid  metal  into  the  clay  mold.  When  the 
mold  is  full  he  drops  it  into  water;  and  when 
it  has  cooled  he  breaks  the  clay  and  has  a 
bracelet  of  cast  brass,  which  is  a  perfect  copy 
of  the  beeswax  model. 

The  dancing  anklets  (numbered  "  2  "  in  the 
illustration)  are  made  from  steel,  which  is 
heated  in  the  blacksmith's  fire  and  beaten  into 
shape  on  his  anvil,  which  is  simply  a  hard  rock. 
They  are  made  with  bells,  which  rattle  as  the 
people  dance  in  their  bare  feet,  and  make  half 
the  music. 

The  next  (numbered  "  3  ")  represents  three 
bracelets  intended  for  a  little  girl.  They  arc 
simply  brass  rods  bent  into  shape.  All  the 
girls  begin  to  wear  them  at  five  or  six  years  of 
age.  The  arm  is  covered  with  them  halfway 
to  the  elbow,  and  becomes  very  sore  from  the 
constant  friction  of  the  brass.  This  is  really 
what  these  bracelets  are  worn  for.  I  have 
already  explained  how  proud  a  woman  is  of 
the  scars  which  prove  that  her  mother  was  rich 
enough  to  deck  her  children  with  bracelets. 


Farming.— African  Curios.  243 


The  two  articles  marked  "  4  "  arc  caps.  The 
one  on  the  left  is  a  genuine  native  cap  ;  while 
the  other,  though  of  native  manufacture,  is 
evidently  copied  after  a  European  smoking  cap. 
Both  are  made  from  the  native  thread,  a  fiber 
obtained  from  the  leaf  of  the  palm  tree.  The 
smoking  cap  has  been  dyed  with  herbs  and 
barks. 

"  Grec-grees "  ("  5  ")  are  charms  worn  b)' 
warriors.  These  have  power — so  the  medi- 
cine man  says — to  prevent  a  ball  from  striking 
or  penetrating  the  body,  to  give  the  warrior 
great  presence  of  mind  in  battle,  and  to  make 
his  appearance  so  hideous  that  the  enemy  will 
lose  heart  and  run  away.  The  small  ring  at 
the  top  is  worn  on  the  right  arm  to  make  it 
strong  when  heavy  work  is  to  be  done. 

The  upper  pair  of  the  three  heavy  anklets 
marked  "  6  "  are  of  solid  copper.  They  weigh 
eight  and  a  quarter  pounds.  They  are  made 
in  molds,  like  the  bracelets,  are  riveted  on,  and 
are  worn  night  and  day  for  years.  This  pair 
belonged  to  the  king's  wife ;  and  when  I  went 
in  town  to  look  for  some  anklets  for  my  col- 
lection she  brought  these  out  and  said : 

"  When  I  was  in  darkness  I  believed  these 
had  a  soul ;  and  I  thought  that  when  I  died  I 
should  want  to  have  them  buried  with  me,  that 
I  might  wear  them  in  the  spirit  world,  as  I  had 


244      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


worn  tlicm  here  for  years.  But  now  I  have 
learned  of  Jesus,  and  I  don't  worship  these 
things.  I  know  they  have  no  soul,  and  when 
I  go  to  God's  country  I  won't  need  them,  for  I 
believe  God  now.  So  I  will  let  you  have  them." 

The  third  anklet  is  of  solid  iron,  and  needs 
to  be  pried  open  in  order  to  get  it  on.  The 
ends  are  then  hammered  together.  Such  an- 
klets are  worn  for  ornament.  Not  everyone  can 
afford  to  have  them.  Those  who  do  wear  them 
are  considered  fine  ladies,  although  they,  like 
the  rest,  may  have  to  go  to  the  bush  daily  for 
their  wood  and  farm  work.  Of  the  two  neck- 
laces ("  7  "),  the  one  on  the  left  is  made  of 
seashells  and  beads,  and  supports  a  bell.  A 
child  wearing  one  of  these  can  be  heard  for 
some  distance.  The  people  admire  it,  and  the 
children  like  to  hear  it.  The  other  is  made  of 
small  shells  called  "cowries."  These  shells 
are  rare,  and  in  some  parts  of  Africa  are  used 
for  money. 

Number  8  represents  a  common  instrument 
of  music  called  a  "  zah."  It  is  made  from  a 
hollow  gourd.  The  network  of  cord  around 
the  '*  zah  "  is  decked  out  with  sections  of  the 
backbone  of  a  snake.  The  ends  of  the  cords 
are  held  in  the  left  hand,  and  the  handle  of  the 
gourd  in  the  right.  It  is  shaken  in  such  a  way 
as  to  produce  different  sounds,  and  all  their 


Farming. — African  Curios.  245 


dancing  "tunes"  arc  played  upon  it.  The 
women  play  this  "  zah,"  while  the  men  beat 
the  drum  ;  and  these,  with  the  dancing  anklets 
and  the  songs  of  the  dancers,  make  the  native 
music. 

Number  9  is  a  hair  comb  made  from  hard 
wood.  Below  it  is  seen  a  powder  case,  made 
from  skin,  the  flasks  being  cut  out  of  soft  wood. 
This  is  tied  about  the  waist  and  worn  by  the 
men  like  a  cartridge  box.  The  other  article 
(at  the  left  of  the  comb  in  the  figure)  is  a  war 
cap,  made  from  the  native  palm  fiber  thread. 
There  is  some  charm  connected  with  such 
a  cap,  which  is  also  worn  at  times  by  devil- 
doctors. 

The  article  labeled  "  x  "  is  a  hand  satchel, 
native  made,  but  not  a  native  idea.  The 
maker  of  it  copied  the  idea  from  some  lady's 
hand  satchel  that  he  had  seen.  It  is  of  skin, 
the  edges  being  nicely  embroidered  with  native 
rope  such  as  they  tie  their  houses  together 
with.  This  is  split  very  fine  and  made  smooth 
with  a  knife.  The  ring  is  put  on  for  ornament ; 
and  the  little  horn  is  filled  with  medicine  to 
bring  good  luck  to  the  owner. 

Number  11  is  a  dagger  (and  sheath)  made 
from  the  native  steel.  This  particular  dagger 
has  been  through  many  a  frightful  scene.  The 
case  is  made  of  snake  skin,  and  is  many  years 


246      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


old.  I  got  it  from  the  king;  and  it  had  been 
one  of  his  treasures. 

Number  12  is  a  group  of  utensils.  Above  is 
the  large  knife,  or  cutlass,  the  most  useful 
article  a  man  or  woman  can  have  in  Africa. 
With  it  the  native  cuts  the  grass,  vines,  and 
bush  on  his  farm,  fells  the  timber  and  hews  the 
planks  for  his  house.  If,  as  is  often  the  case, 
he  makes  his  house  of  bamboo  he  cuts  the 
poles  and  splits  them  with  the  same  tool.  If 
he  goes  to  war  he  may  use  it  both  for  sword 
and  dagger. 

The  African  women  use  the  cutlass,  along 
with  the  ax  (shown  below  it  in  the  figure),  to 
cut  wood  ;  and  it  is  her  most  useful  implement. 
She  uses  it  to  weed  her  farm  and  to  prepare 
and  plant  her  vegetables.  With  the  cutlass 
she  digs  the  vegetables  for  the  meal,  and  it  is 
the  knife  with  which  she  peels  them.  If  she 
has  flesh  meat  she  divides  it  with  the  same 
blade.  The  cutlass  is,  in  fact,  the  handiest  arti- 
cle about  a  house  and  one  that  both  men  and 
women  use  in  the  arts  of  peace  and  of  war. 

In  the  same  group  (12)  hangs  a  cow  horn, 
covered  with  red  leather,  and  used  as  a  pow- 
derflask.  On  the  left  of  this  is  seen  a  war  bell, 
such  as  is  worn  on  each  warrior's  neck  in  time 
of  war.  It  is  made  of  iron,  and  has  an  iron 
ball  inside.    When  the  enemy  are  seen  all  the 


Farming.— African  Curios.  249 


warriors  ring  these  bells  and  shout  at  the  top 
of  their  voices,  to  terrify  them. 

Number  13  is  a  cocoanut  just  as  it  grows  on 
the  tree.  The  nut  is  inside  of  the  large  fibrous 
husk.  Hundreds  of  them  may  be  seen  grow- 
ing on  a  tree  at  once,  some  ripe,  some  half 
grown,  others  just  in  the  bud. 

Number  14  is  an  idol,  or  fetich,  made  from 
herbs  and  grasses  beaten  in  a  mortar  and 
mixed  with  clay,  pot  black,  and  oil.  This  is 
spread  over  a  goat's  horn  and  left  to  dry. 
A  chain,  a  deer's  horn  filled  with  medi- 
cine, and  two  bells  are  attached  to  this  horn. 
The  idol  is  wrapped  in  a  monkey  skin,  leaving 
the  chain  and  bells  hanging  out.  The  whole  is 
tied  on  a  man's  back  and  worn  in  war  as  a  pro- 
tection against  the  enemy's  bullets.  The  man 
wearing  it  goes  to  war  with  the  devil-doctor's 
assurance  that,  while  he  continues  to  wear  it,  he 
is  perfectly  safe,  even  in  the  front  of  the  battle, 
and  that  no  musket  ball  can  pierce  his  skin. 
This  is  one  of  their  most  expensive  fetiches, 
and  it  is  not  every  man  that  can  afford  to 
have  one. 

This  one  has  seen  service  in  the  wars  ;  but 
the  owner  has  now  accepted  Christianity.  He 
sent  it,  with  many  others,  to  the  mission,  and 
said  he  had  learned  better  than  to  trust  in 
such  foolishness  and  had  no  more  use  for  it, 


250      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


because  he  was  going  to  trust  in  God.  He 
afterward  came  forward  and  was  baptized. 

The  bowl  which  contains  this  fetich  is  a 
common  wooden  basin.  It  is  used  for  general 
household  purposes,  and  is  also  the  one  dish 
in  which  the  family  meal  is  served  and  out  of 
which  they  all  eat. 

The  hair  hanging  from  the  table  is  the  end 
of  a  charm  to  be  carried  in  the  hand  when 
going  on  a  journey.  The  hair  is  taken  from 
the  tails  of  slaughtered  cattle,  and  is  bound 
together  with  a  cord  such  as  is  used  for  fish- 
ing. On  the  other  end  is  a  piece  of  iron.  A 
man  traveling  with  one  of  these  in  his  hand 
considers  himself  safe  from  disease  or  accident. 
The  women  when  dancing  also  carry  a  similar 
cow  tail,  although  there  is  no  charm  about  the 
one  they  carry. 

The  basket  on  the  top  of  group  15  is  a  co- 
lander woven  with  the  tough  stems  of  a  vine 
called  "gah."  These  stems  also  form  the 
rope  used  in  binding  their  houses  and  for 
other  purposes  of  cordage.  They  are  split 
and  worked  with  a  knife  till  smooth  and  plia- 
ble, then  woven  into  this  basket  form.  This  is 
a  most  handy  article,  and  one  without  which  a 
woman  cannot  keep  house,  since  all  her  palm 
butter  has  to  be  strained  through  it. 

The  bowl  on  the  table  is  made  from  a  gourd, 


Farming.— African  Curios.  251 


and  is  only  used  for  dry  articles.  The  marks 
on  the  outside  arc  for  ornament  and  are  burned 
in  with  a  hot  iron. 

The  bag  hanging  from  the  table  is  used  by 
devil-doctors  for  carrying  charms  and  "  gree- 
grees."    It  is  made  of  deerskin. 

The  wickerwork  on  the  floor  at  the  right  is 
a  wood  rack.  It  is  made  of  vine  stems,  and  is 
light  and  strong.  The  women  carry  every- 
thing in  one  of  these  poised  on  the  head,  and 
in  many  ways  it  takes  the  place  of  a  hand 
satchel.  The  article  inside  of  the  wood  rack 
is  a  long-haired  monkey  skin. 

On  the  floor  at  the  left  is  a  king's  chair.  It 
is  carved  out  of  a  solid  piece  of  wood,  and  be- 
longed to  King  Charles  Hodge.  This  is  no 
common  chair,  and  it  is  seldom  you  meet  one 
like  it.  The  ordinary  "chair"  on  the  Kroo 
coast  is  a  stick  of  wood.  A  round  block  nine 
inches  in  diameter  and  a  foot  long  will  make 
two  chairs  when  split  in  two,  the  flat  side  rest- 
ing on  the  floor.  Every  house  has  several 
"  chairs  "  of  this  sort.  Much  time  is  spent  in 
making  a  chair  like  the  one  in  the  illustration, 
for  it  is  all  carved  by  hand  and  with  the  rudest 
tools.  But  there  are  men  who  take  delight  in 
doing  a  thing  like  this,  and  will  spend  all  their 
spare  moments  at  it. 

A  gray  monkey  skin  lies  upon  the  king's 


252      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa, 


chair;  and  resting  upon  one  end  of  the 
chair  and  of  the  wood  racl<  is  a  "  bole-blu  " — 
the  seat  in  which  a  baby  sits  and  is  carried  on 
its  mother's  back.  The  white  strings  are  the 
strips  of  cloth  by  wliicli  it  is  fastened  to  the 
shoulders. 

The  cloth  on  the  table  is  made  from  native 
cotton,  colored  with  native  dyes,  woven  in 
narrow  strips,  and  so  sewed  together  as  to  give 
the  pattern  shown  in  the  figure. 

All  the  native  implements,  ornaments,  etc., 
described  in  this  chapter  were  collected  by 
me  in  Africa,  and  most  of  them  have  been  in 
actual  use. 


House-building— Liquor  Curse.  255 


CHAPTER  XV. 

HOUSE-BUILDING.— THE  LIQUOR  CURSE. 


Preparing  the  Materials. — The  Four  Main  Pillars. — Ceiling. 
—  Roof  and  Thatch. —  Walls. —  Flooring. —  "  Bleen." — 
Furniture. — Rum,  the  Curse  of  Africa. 

npHE  native  hou.sc  is  circular — not  by  eeom- 


1  etry,  but  by  guess.  Indeed,  sometimes 
it  is  noticeably  flattened  on  one  side.  The  Af- 
rican builder  has  no  square  and  compass  with 
which  to  test  his  handiwork;  and  there  is  not 
a  straight  road  or  anything  else  of  his  con- 
struction that  would  bear  a  leveling  instru- 
ment or  a  straight-edge.  He  thinks  it  makes 
no  difference  how  crooked  a  line  is ;  and  even 
when  there  is  nothing  to  hinder  him  from  run- 
ning a  straight  fence  or  road,  he  finds  it  easier 
— and  perhaps  he  would  say  better — to  choose 
the  crooked  rather  than  the  straight. 

The  house-builder  has  first  to  fix  upon  a 
site.  He  selects  a  location  in  the  village,  calls 
the  people  together,  puts  down  some  small 
"dash,"  or  present,  and  asks  permission  to 
erect  his  house  there.  If  no  objection  arises 
his  present  is  accepted,  and  he  has  leave  to 


build. 


256      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


Witli  cutlass  and  ax  he  goes  to  the  bush 
and  cuts  timber  for  the  frame.  This  he  car- 
ries back  to  town  on  his  head.  If  his  wives 
are  amiable  they  may  help  him  ;  but  if  not, 
he  has  to  bear  his  own  burden,  unless,  as  often 
happens,  his  near  relatives  come  to  his  aid. 

Having  brought  in  the  main  timbers  he  cuts 
and  brings  in  the  trees  from  which  planks  are 
made.  The  wood  of  these  trees  is  soft,  and 
they  are  first  cut  into  lengths  and  quartered, 
and  then  split  as  small  as  can  well  be  used, 
and  hewn  smooth  with  the  cutlass. 

Quantities  of  a  tough,  supple  vine  which 
grows  in  the  big  bush  are  brought  in  and  piled 
up,  to  be  manufactured  into  the  rope  with 
which  the  house  is  tied  together — for  not  a 
nail  is  used  in  the  building. 

Next  the  leaf  is  procured  for  the  thatch. 
This  is  cut  and  tied  in  large  bundles  and 
transported  into  town  on  the  heads  of  men 
and  women. 

All  the  building  material,  timber,  planking, 
cord,  and  thatch,  is  now  ready. 

Some  of  the  men  attain  considerable  skill  as 
house  carpenters.  Indeed,  few  of  the  natives 
would  be  capable  of  building  a  house,  unaided. 
A  number  of  houses  are  generally  erected  at 
about  the  same  time,  and  the  people  join  to- 
gether and  help  one  another. 


House-building. — Liquor  Curse.  257 


After  the  ground  has  been  leveled  off  four 
holes  are  dug,  and  four  stout  posts,  each  about 
ten  feet  long,  are  planted  in  them.  These 
inclose  a  square  in  the  center  of  the  intended 
house.  The  ceiling  is  then  constructed.  Four 
large  timbers  are  laid  down  in  the  form  of  a 
square  of  the  same  size  as  that  inclosed  by  the 
four  uprights.  Four  other  timbers  are  laid 
upon  these  and  tied  firmly  in  place.  Cross 
pieces  or  braces  are  then  tied  on,  and  the 
square  is  filled  in  with  split  bamboo  closely  in- 
terwoven and  well  fastened  with  native  rope. 
The  whole  fabric  is  then  raised  and  laid  on 
top  of  the  uprights  so  as  to  serve  at  once  as  a 
a  ceiling  for  the  main  room  of  the  house  and 
flooring  for  the  loft. 

Four  light  poles  are  cut  for  the  main  rafters. 
These  are  securely  fastened  together  at  one 
end  and  placed  in  position  so  as  to  give  a  coni- 
cal form  to  the  roof.  Other  rafters  are  added 
until  the  roof  is  ready  for  its  "  sheeting."  For 
this  the  rope  of  supple  vine  is  used.  This  is 
wound  round  and  round  from  peak  to  eaves 
and  firmly  tied  at  regular  distances.  It  strength- 
ens the  roof  and  forms  a  foundation  to  which 
the  thatch  is  fastened. 

The  wall  posts  come  next.  These  are  set  in 
the  ground  at  the  ends  of  the  rafters,  and 
lengths  of  the  rope  are  passed  around  the 


258      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa, 


house  at  the  top  to  hold  them  together. 
Light  and  flexible  hoop  poles  are  passed 
around  the  house,  about  five  rounds  generally. 
These  are  tied  to  the  wall  posts,  and  to  these 
in  turn  the  planking  on  the  inside  is  tied. 

The  front  door  of  the  house  is  called  the 
man's  door,  and  the  smaller  one  at  the  side 
the  woman's  door.  A  few  houses  have  also  a 
third  door. 

The  planks  used  for  sheathing  the  wall  are 
three  or  four  inches  wide,  one  edge  being 
thinner  and  more  irregular  than  the  other. 
They  stand  upright  and  overlap  one  another 
on  the  side.  Any  chinks  that  may  be  left  are 
carefully  filled  up  with  small  pieces  of  wood, 
and  the  wall  is  then  ready  to  be  plastered  with 
what  the  natives  call  "  bleen  " — a  mixture  of 
cow  manure  and  water. 

The  leaves  for  the  thatch  are  large,  and 
when  four  or  five  of  them  are  put  together 
they  look  much  like  a  shingle.  They  are  tied 
down  with  the  rope.  The  thatchers  begin  at 
the  eaves  of  the  roof  and  work  up ;  and  when 
the  top  is  reached  a  cap  is  made  for  it  and 
securely  tied  on. 

As  soon  as  the  roof  is  completed  a  fire  is 
built  inside  the  house,  and  kept  burning  to 
smoke  and  dry  the  leaf.  The  house  will  not 
last  long  unless  the  leaf  is  thoroughly  dried 


II()USE-i5UiLDiNG.— Liquor  Curse.  259 

and  cured  with  the  smoke.  Tlic  women  on 
the  beach  make  salt  by  boiling  the  sea  water 
in  large,  flat  brass  pans  ;  and  when  a  man  has 
put  up  a  new  house  he  often  gets  two  or  three 
of  them  for  a  few  weeks  to  boil  their  salt  in 
it,  claiming  that  the  steam  from  the  salt  water 
is  good  for  the  roof. 

When  the  roof  is  thoroughly  dry  the  ground 
within  the  house  is  broken  up  with  a  hoe,  and 
a  red  clay  is  i)ut  in  for  a  floor.  This  clay  is 
spread  five  inches  deep,  and  is  beaten  with  a 
hardwood  bat  made  for  the  purpose  until  it 
is  quite  smooth  and  all  the  lumps  are  broken. 
After  drying  about  two  days  it  begins  to 
crack ;  but  nothing  is  done  until  it  has  dried 
thoroughly  and  cracked  all  it  will.  Then  it  is 
gone  over  again,  and  all  the  cracks  are  beaten 
together ;  and  they  wash  it  with  a  prepara- 
tion which  they  make  from  some  herb,  and 
which,  they  think,  renders  the  floor  durable 
and  keeps  it  from  cracking.  The  floor  is  also 
washed  with  "  bleen  "  several  times,  and  left 
to  dry  for  a  few  days  before  being  used. 

Then  the  family  can  move  in.  A  fire  is 
kindled  between  two  of  the  posts  supporting 
the  ceiling.  Three  rocks,  called  "  glebbies," 
are  prepared  for  a  fireplace  and  set  up  to- 
gether on  the  floor.  They  are  about  a  foot 
high ;  and  the  fire  is  made  between  them. 


26o      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


so  as  to  come  up  about  the  pot  when  it  is 
phiced  upon  them.  The  glebbies  thus  serve 
for  a  crane. 

Over  the  fireplace  is  the  "  boah."  This  is 
nothing  more  than  a  large  box  made  of  poles, 
bamboo,  and  rope,  and  plastered  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  house.  It  might,  indeed,  be 
called  a  cupboard,  for  it  is  a  place  to  keep 
rice,  fish,  meat,  and  dishes  dry  and  sweet  in 
the  smoke.  Under  this  "  boah  "  is  a  rack  on 
which  wood  is  dried  for  using.  No  woman 
will  bum  green  wood  if  she  can  help  it.  The 
new  rice,  also,  is  dried  here,  before  putting  it 
in  the  mortar. 

Entering  the  house  by  the  front  door,  one 
sees  a  little  pot,  bottle,  or  piece  of  iron.  This 
contains  a  charm  to  prevent  anyone  from 
bringing  witchcraft  or  disease  into  the  house. 
Under  the  floor  is  generally  another  charm  to 
insure  the  safety  of  the  household.  Near  this 
door  is  the  place  where  one  sits  down  while 
making  a  call.  The  chair  is  generally  there,  if 
there  is  one  in  the  house ;  and  if  not,  there  is 
the  block  of  firewood  which  is  the  common 
African  seat. 

On  the  opposite  side  from  the  fire  is  the 
woman's  door.  Here  she  does  her  work.  This 
door  is  generally  obstructed.  As  the  house  is 
small  and  she  has  no  table,  she  sits  in  this 


IIOUSE-l'.UILDING.  -   Ll(,)U()K  CUKSE.  261 


tloorway  to  peel  her  vegetables,  prepare  her 
rice  for  cookiiii;',  and  wash  her  bowls  and  pots 
— for  her  husband  eats  out  of  a  wooden  bowl, 
and  she  out  of  the  pot  if  it  happens  to  suit  her 
better. 

On  the  floor  at  the  back  of  the  house  stand 
the  waterpots,  generally  two,  and  sometimes 
three.  These  are  filled  with  water  every 
morning  and  evening.  Hanging  on  the  wall 
arc  the  bowls  and  basins,  and  sometimes  the 
plates.  The  pots  for  cooking,  if  of  iron,  stand 
at  one  side ;  if  of  clay,  they  are  put  in  the 
"  boah  "  over  the  fire. 

Between  the  waterpots  are  the  house  idols. 
They  are  of  various  sorts,  and  remain  here 
year  after  year,  with  all  the  dust  and  dirt  of 
the  house  gathering  upon  them.  When  the 
man  of  the  house  thinks  it  will  please  the  god, 
or  idol,  a  fowl  is  killed  in  sacrifice  to  it.  The 
blood  is  sprinkled  on  the  idol,  together  with 
some  oil  and  a  white  medicine  obtained  from 
the  medicine  man  ;  and  the  poor,  deluded  man 
believes  that  the  wrath  of  the  god  is  turned 
away. 

It  is  common  to  have  the  limb  of  a  tree, 
vi^ith  a  number  of  prongs  on  it,  set  into  the 
ground  and  left  standing  three  or  four  feet 
high.  On  these,  as  hooks,  the  drinking  cup  is 
hung,  and  any  charms  the  family  may  have. 


262      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

Tliis  rack  is  near  the  household  god,  which  is 
supposed  to  exercise  a  special  power  over  all 
charms.  A  king  who  possesses  a  silk  hat 
generally  hangs  it  here  when  not  wearing  it. 

Back  of  the  fire  is  a  kind  of  general  place 
for  everything,  but  especially  for  the  hens.  A 
shelf  is  strung  up  by  means  of  the  ever-useful 
rope,  and  on  this  the  fowls  roost.  A  basket 
or  box  stands  near  by,  in  which  a  nest  is  made 
and  the  hens  are  set. 

Behind  the  front  door  the  man  of  the  house 
hangs  his  gun,  his  war  "  medicine,"  and 
the  mat  on  which  he  sleeps.  Over  the  door 
is  placed  a  charm  to  protect  the  lives  of  the 
household.  The  skulls  of  all  the  animals  that 
have  been  shot  by  the  man  are  also  hung  up 
here  as  an  evidence  of  his  ability  to  kill  game. 

Around  the  outside  is  made  a  veranda,  about 
four  feet  wide,  to  protect  the  wall  from  the 
rain.  A  man  with  little  ambition  or  energy 
always  has  an  unfinished  house  ;  and  it  is  easy 
to  tell,  by  the  look  of  the  hut,  what  sort  of  man 
lives  inside.  Some  houses  have  under  the  ve- 
randa, by  the  door,  a  bench  made  of  bamboo 
and  the  inevitable  rope.  This  is  generally  four 
feet  wide  and  five  feet  long,  so  that  they  often 
make  a  bed  upon  it  and  lie  down  for  a  rest. 
In  the  front  door  is  a  hole  two  inches  long 
and  an  inch  wide.    This  is  intended  as  a  door 


HOUSK-HUILDING. — LkjUOR  CUKSl':.  263 

by  wliich  the  idol  may  pass  out  and  in  when 
the  man's  door  is  shut  ! 

The  floor  is  kept  scrubbed  and  clean  ;  else 
the  house  would  not  be  sweet.  It  costs  no  lit- 
tle time  and  strcny;th  for  an  American  woman 
to  keep  her  floor  free  from  dirt.  The  African 
woman,  too,  feels  that  her  house  must  be  kept 
clean,  and  at  least  twice  a  week  she  scrubs  her 
floor.  As  she  has  mud  and  not  planks  tor 
flooring,  she  cannot  use  water;  so  she  goes  to 
the  woods,  hunts  up  the  cattle,  finds  and  brings 
home  some  "  bleen,"  which  she  mixes  in  water, 
and  then  washes  her  floor,  on  her  hands  and 
knees,  with  this  paste. 

It  prevents  the  floor  from  cracking,  and 
forms  a  crust  on  it  that  keeps  insects  from 
coming  in  at  night  and  biting  the  people 
while  they  are  asleep  on  the  floor.  It  cleans 
the  floor,  and  gives  the  house  the  appearance 
of  having  had  a  general  straightening  up.  It  is 
one  of  the  offensive  things  in  African  house- 
keeping, and  yet  it  seems  to  be  necessary  to 
the  health  and  comfort  of  the  household. 

Some  of  the  men  who  have  been  to  sea  and 
have  seen  European  houses  come  home  and 
build  houses  with  mud  walls  and  with  windows. 
They  procure  old  hinges  with  which  to  hang 
the  door — the  front  door,  at  least,  if  they  do 
not  have  hinges  enough  to  hang  the  others. 


264      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

Some  of  them  say,  "1  110  fit  to  live  in  them 
umberella  house  tliis  time."  They  have  more 
advanced  ideas.  So  they  build  a  long  house 
instead  of  a  round  one,  and  divide  it  into  two 
parts,  making  one  half  a  bedroom  and  the 
other  the  kitchen.  When  a  man  builds  this 
kind  of  house  he  scorns  to  sleep  on  the  floor, 
and  makes  himself  a  bedstead — the  rudest 
kind  imaginable,  but  it  keeps  him  off  the  floor, 
and  he  congratulates  himself  that  he  has  taken 
one  step  toward  "  white  man's  fashion." 

This  is  the  desire  of  the  people  in  general ; 
and  as  they  become  enlightened  they  will  re- 
place their  rude  huts  with  respectable  houses, 
and  the  whole  land  will  testify  that  the  "  true 
Light"  has  shined  upon  them. 

One  of  the  greatest  obstructions  in  the  way 
of  the  Gospel  in  Africa  is  the  rum  traffic  car- 
ried on  by  the  European  nations.  A  few  years 
ago  this  traffic  was  not  to  be  compared  with 
what  it  is  to-day.  It  is  not  long  since  one 
bottle  of  gin  would  satisfy  all  the  people  in  a 
town  ;  they  used  to  take  a  spoon  to  drink  it 
out  of.  But  now  when  rum  comes  into  town — 
not  by  the  bottle,  but  by  the  barrel — I  have 
seen  men  stand  around  it,  with  brass  kettles, 
tin  buckets,  iron  pots,  and  tin  cans,  contending 
to  see  who  could  get  the  most,  and  then  end- 


House-building. — Liquor  Curse.  265 


ing  up  in  a  figlit.  The  little  children  stood 
around  sipping  the  last  drop  out  of  the  dish 
father  or  mother  had  emptied.  Many  of  the 
older  people  think  it  a  good  piece  of  fun  to 
get  a  child  drunk. 

During  the  year  1894  two  trading  ships  were 
wrecked  within  twenty  miles  of  Garraway  ;  and, 
as  they  were  heavily  loaded  with  rum,  it  was  a 
great  curse  to  us,  as  well  as  to  the  other  tribes 
on  the  coast.  One  poor  man  who  fell  a  victim 
to  the  first  wreck  was  a  devil-doctor.  The  peo- 
ple said  that  this  kind  of  "  red  rum  "  must  have 
water  put  into  it  before  they  could  drink  it.  I 
think  it  was  brandy.  It  came  in  a  large  barrel, 
which  would  hold  at  least  forty-five  gallons. 
This  man,  Kiew,  who  was  a  heavy  drinker 
before,  bought  five  gallons  on  Saturday  and 
drank  of  it  freely.  In  the  evening  when  he 
went  to  cast  his  fishing  net  he  had  a  bottle 
with  him.  I  saw  him,  just  before  he  went  out 
to  fish,  getting  his  net  ready. 

On  Sunday  morning  he  was  taken  suddenly 
ill,  and  felt  at  once  that  it  was  death.  He  called 
his  oldest  son,  Bauboo,  and  said,  "  My  son,  I 
am  sick,  and  I  shall  die  now.  I  am  very  sorry 
to  leave  you  at  your  age — a  young  man  not 
married — and  all  my  little  children.  I  am  very 
sorry  to-day  to  have  to  tell  you  that  I  shall 
have  to  leave  you,  but  I  can't  get  better." 


266      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


His  family  being  alarmed,  his  brother  carried 
him  into  the  other  town  and  hid  him  away  in 
a  small  house.  They  often  do  this  with  their 
sick,  believing  that  some  witch  is  the  cause  of  the 
sickness,  and  that  when  the  witch  cannot  find 
them  the  spell  will  be  broken  and  they  will  get 
better.  They  gave  him  their  country  medicines, 
but  he  grew  worse. 

On  Monday  morning,  as  I  was  going  around 
the  town  making  calls,  I  came  to  his  brother's 
place.  The  brother  said  to  mc,  "  I  want  you 
to  come  and  see  a  man  who  is  sick.  I  went 
with  him,  and  when  we  came  to  the  house  he 
opened  the  door,  and  there  was  Kiew  with  his 
back  up  against  the  wall  by  a  fire,  with  a  brass 
kettle  by  his  side.  I  said,  "Kiew,  is  this  you  ?  " 
for  I  did  not  know  he  was  sick. 

"  Yes,  teacher,"  replied  the  dying  man,  "  I 
am  very  sick.  Can't  you  give  me  some  med- 
icine ?  " 

He  was  panting  for  breath,  and  every  few 
minutes  hung  his  head  over  the  brass  kettle, 
while  the  corruption  ran  out  of  his  mouth. 

I  asked  his  brother,  Yaway,  if  they  had  done 
anything  for  him,  and  he  said,  "  O  yes,  we  have 
given  him  medicine,  but  it  does  not  do  him  any 
good.    Haven't  you  any  good  medicine?" 

His  son  Boulow  sat  at  the  door,  and  I  told 
him  that  we  must  do  something  quickly,  for 


IIOUSE-liUILDING. — LiQUOR  CURSE.  267 

his  father  was  very  sick.  So  I  sent  him  to  the 
mission  to  my  sister  to  fetch  some  medicine. 
He  soon  returned  ;  and  I  gave  Kiew  the  med- 
icine. Meantime,  we  had  taken  him  outside, 
sjorcad  a  mat  on  the  ground,  and  kiid  him  upon 
it.  He  kiy  quietly  for  about  an  hour  and  a 
half,  and  then  began  to  vomit.  I  sent  his  son 
for  more  medicine,  and  some  breakfast  for  my- 
self. He  went  in  great  haste,  for  he  was  very 
much  alarmed  about  his  father. 

Kiew  asked  for  water,  which  w^e  gave  him. 
I  went  into  an  adjoining  house,  and  before 
I  came  back  heard  some  women  who  were 
watching  him  call  out,  "Kiewdanna?"  ("What 
is  the  matter?")  I  rushed  back  and  found  his 
eyes  set.  I  bathed  him  with  cold  water.  The 
people  tried  to  stand  him  on  his  feet,  and  called 
out  to  him  in  the  attempt  to  arrest  his  atten- 
tion ;  but  he  was  gone.  They  ran  for  gunpow- 
der and  blew  some  up  his  nose,  but  there  was  no 
sign  of  life. 

His  wives  and  children  came  and  threw  them- 
selves on  the  ground,  screaming  and  crying  and 
clinging  to  their  dead  husband  and  father.  The 
people,  in  terror,  ran  every  way,  crying,  "  Mur- 
der! murder!  "  Soon  a  crowd  of  people  gath- 
ered in  great  fright,  for  few  knew  that  Kiew 
was  ill.  They  beat  the  war  drum  and  blew  the 
war  horn  to  call  the  people  from  the  farms  and 


268      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


the  bush.  Suqh  excitement  and  confusion  I 
had  not  seen  among  our  people  since  the  war. 

I  could  do  no  more.  The  man  was  dead, 
and  the  people  were  excited  ;  so  I  left  them 
and  went  home.  I  knew  that  my  sister  would 
be  wondering  the  reason  for  all  the  tumult. 

In  the  afternoon  she  and  I  went  to  the  town. 
I  said  to  one  of  the  men,  "  Rum  killed  Kicw." 
He  clasped  my  hand  and  said,  "  True,  true,  it 
be  rum  kill  him."  We  visited  many  of  the 
people.  Some  were  serious,  but  some  were 
still  drinking. 

We  came  to  where  the  body  lay.  While  we 
were  talking  a  man  said,  "  After  you  went  back 
this  morning  Kicw  swell  up  so  big  we  don't 
know  what  to  do,  so  we  took  him  out  behind 
the  town  among  the  bushes  and  rolled  and 
squeezed  him,  and  all  that  stuff  came  out  of 
his  mouth  and  nose,  just  like  when  you  open 
a  rum  barrel." 

Unspeakable  corruption  set  in  before  they 
could  get  him  buried.  Four  men  carried  him 
very  gently  and  put  him  in  the  grave. 

Who  can  believe  that  such  a  body  will  be 
raised  glorified,  to  live  with  our  risen  Lord  in 
the  skies?  Surely,  when  the  Judge  shall  open 
the  book  of  remembrance  and  read  the  details 
of  such  a  life  as  this,  it  cannot  receive  the  "  Well 
done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant :  enter 


House-building. — Liquor  Curse.  269 

thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord."  Of  all  the 
black  records  of  unfaithfulness,  surely  none  can 
be  blacker  than  the  drunkard's.  He  has  been 
unfiithful  to  wife,  children,  friends,  neighbors, 
society,  country,  himself,  and  most  of  all  to 
God. 

Some  people  say,  "  O,  in  speaking  of  rum 
they  always  color  everything  so  high.  There 
is  no  moderation.  And  then,  when  they  get 
hold  of  an  extreme  case,  they  cannot  stop  at 
telling  the  truth  about  it ;  they  must  go  on 
and  color  it  up,  until  you  would  think  it  was 
dangerous  to  look  at  a  bottle  or  a  barrel  if  it 
had  rum  inside." 

But  there  are  no  words  in  the  English  or 
any  other  language  that  will  express  the  reality 
of  it.  When  we  have  said  all  that  our  imag- 
ination can  conceive  we  have  but  commenced 
to  tell  about  it.  No  coloring  has  been  found 
in  this  moderate  world  vivid  enough,  nor  can 
the  human  mind  depict  a  scene  that  can  com- 
pare with  the  penalty  entailed  by  drink. 

O  Lord,  how  long  shall  this  devil  go  to  and 
fro  in  the  earth  and  walk  up  and  down  in  it  ? 
Well  may  the  Church  of  God  lift  up  her  hands 
in  holy  horror  and  pray,  "  O  Lord,  send  us 
deliverance  from  this  demon  rum  !  " 
18 


2/0      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

« 

A  REVIVAI>. 

Tlie  Children's  Talk.— The  Coming  of  the  Blessing. — Notes 
from  a  Journal. — Bestman  and  Daniel. — "  The  Big  Devil.'' 
— "  The  Power  of  Cod." — "The  Sky  Coming  Down." — 
Garraway  After  Seven  Years. — Sanuiel's  Letter.- — Africa  for 
Christ  ! 

ONE  evening  wc  sat  on  the  veranda  in  the 
beautiful  moonlight  of  Africa;  and  the 
children  were  talking  about  the  stars  and  the 
sky.  They  commenced  by  telling  the  story  I 
have  already  referred  to — how  the  moon  be- 
came cold,  while  the  sun  is  still  hot. 

They  told  me,  besides,  about  a  fish  that  the 
people  say  once  saved  a  man.  They  say  it  was 
a  flying  fish.  This  I  believe  to  be  their  version 
of  the  story  of  Jonah.  There  are  now  three 
men  living  in  Garraway  who  will  not  eat  the 
flying  fish.  I  know  them  all  personally.  They 
say  that  the  man  saved  by  the  fish  belonged 
to  their  family,  and  in  honor  of  this  friendly 
act  to  them  they  will  not  eat  the  fish. 

The  children  said  that  when  God  made  man 
he  made  a  white  man  and  woman  and  a  black 
man  and  woman.    He  set  a  table,  and  at  one 


A  Revival. 


271 


end  put  two  plates,  with  knives,  forks,  spoons, 
bread,  butter,  tea,  and  all  kinds  of  "American 
food,"  while  at  the  other  end  he  put  one  large 
bowl  of  palm  butter  and  rice,  without  any 
spoons.  Then  he  called  them  to  cat.  The 
white  man  and  woman  took  the  place  with  the 
bread,  butter,  tea,  etc.,  and  ate  with  the  knives, 
forks,  and  spoons ;  and  the  black  man  and 
woman  took  the  place  with  the  palm  butter 
and  rice  and  ate  with  their  hands.  This  was 
their  own  choice ;  and  so,  because  the  black 
man  did  not  take  the  American  victuals,  God 
had  made  them  all  fools.  Both  white  and 
black  people  might  have  had  the  good  food  ; 
but  the  black  people  chose  the  palm  butter  and 
rice,  and  thus  the  curse  fell  on  them.  The 
first  black  people  "  did  them  bad,"  and  so  they 
will  never  have  the  good  things  that  the  white 
people  have.  This  is  their  version  of  the  fall 
of  man,  but  the  story  has  been  handed  down 
orally  until  you  can  hardly  recognize  it. 

They  then  repeated  their  strange  story  of 
the  last  day,  which  they  say  their  fathers  re- 
ceived from  the  first  people.  The  sea  gulls 
are  drinking  the  oceans  dry,  the  sandpipers 
counting  the  sand  on  the  beach,  and  the  wood- 
peckers cutting  down  the  trees.  They  will  all 
finish  on  the  same  day,  the  sky  will  then  come 
down,  and  then  this  world  will  be  destroyed. 


272      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


They  told  inc  also  of  a  story  they  have  of  God's 
Son  who  came  into  the  world.  They  say  he 
knew  everything. 

This  so  impressed  mc  with  the  fact  that  these 
people  are  responsible  to-day  for  all  they  do 
that  it  threw  new  light  on  all  iny  work.  Gar- 
raway  seemed  like  a  new  place  to  me  after  this  ; 
for  I  had  been  telling  them  all  these  things, 
thinking  they  knew  nothing  about  them.  And 
now  to  learn  that  they  knew  and  believed  all 
these  traditions,  so  like  the  Scripture  records, 
gave  me  a  groundwork  to  begin  upon.  So 
far  I  had  not  got  much  hold  on  them.  I 
felt  now  that  the  fact  that  their  fathers  had 
told  them  before  would  give  me  a  great  hold 
on  them. 

"  Everything  is  quiet  to-day,"  I  wrote  in  my 
journal  next  day,  "  and  we  have  school  as 
usual  ;  but  the  thought  of  what  the  children 
told  me  makes  everything  seem  different,  and 
I  cannot  help  believing  that  a  new  time  has 
come." 

After  supper  the  children  all  took  their  books 
and  went  to  study,  and  I  lay  down  to  rest. 
But  the  conviction  came  forcibly  to  me  that  I 
ought  to  have  a  religious  meeting  with  the 
children.  Accordingly  I  told  them  all  to  put 
away  their  books  for  the  night;  and  then  I 
explained  to  thcni  \\hat  it  was  to  be  saved,  or 


A  Revival. 


273 


converted,  ;uul  told  them  that  Jesus  wanted 
to  take  all  the  devil  out  of  them  and  come  and 
live  in  their  hearts  himself.  I  told  them  that 
we  were  going  to  study  about  it,  that  next 
night  we  were  going  to  have  a  penitent  bench, 
and  that  any  one  of  them  who  made  up  his 
mind  to  be  saved  ought  to  come  and  be  saved, 
for  Jesus  had  been  waiting  a  long  time  to  save 
them,  and  if  they  were  willing  he  would  save 
them  at  once. 

All  next  day  we  felt  the  presence  of  the 
Spirit,  though  little  was  said.  The  children 
each  learned  a  new  verse,  and  considered  the 
matter.  We  did  not  tell  those  living  in  "  Zion  " 
(our  Christian  town)  that  we  were  going  to 
have  a  meeting,  but  the  children  told  the  Zion 
children  at  school ;  and  in  the  evening  after  we 
had  commenced  the  meeting  the  Zion  children 
came. 

I  gave  the  invitation  for  any  who  wanted  to 
be  saved  to  come  forward.  I  told  them  I  did 
not  mean  anyone  who  wanted  to  pray,  for  we 
all  prayed,  but  that  God  wanted  to  do  some- 
thing new  for  them — something  they  had  not 
yet  experienced.  (I  had  already  one  boy  who 
had  received  this  experience  of  the  new  birth 
the  previous  March,  had  lived  for  God  ever 
since,  had  the  assurance  of  his  acceptance,  and 
had  testified  to  it.) 


274      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

We  all  knelt  at  the  bench,  and  they  all  prayed 
at  once.  George,  one  of  the  older  boys,  was 
very  much  troubled,  and  soon  laid  all  down 
before  God,  and  it  was  not  long  till  he  knew 
that  he  was  a  free  boy  and  that  the  burden  was 
gone.  O,  how  he  shouted  the  praises  of  God  ! 
He  felt  so  free  that  he  threw  up  his  arms  many 
times  and  asked  God  to  take  him  to  heaven  at 
once.  I  shall  never,  never  forget  the  night 
when  George  was  saved. 

Before  school  the  following  morning  the 
children  had  a  meeting  to  pray  God  to  save 
them.  The  girls  went  up  stairs,  and  the  boys 
to  the  schoolhouse.  I  was  in  my  room,  and 
thought  I  would  let  them  be  alone  and  get 
their  eyes  on  God,  for  I  did  not  want  to  have 
them  look  to  me. 

The  Zion  men  came  to  school,  and,  finding 
the  boys  having  a  prayer  meeting,  joined  them. 
They  were  all  so  much  in  earnest  that  they  for- 
got when  their  half  hour  was  up,  and  when  I 
rang  the  bell  for  school  they  did  not  hear. 
After  a  time  I  went  to  the  schoolhouse  and 
found  them  all  on  their  knees.  George  had 
told  what  a  wonderful  Saviour  he  had  found, 
and  all  the  rest  were  anxious  to  find  him  too. 
When  they  rose  from  their  knees  I  asked  them 
if  they  were  ready  to  have  school,  and  they 
said  yes. 


A  Revival. 


275 


This  being  our  regular  prayer  meeting  night, 
we  all  met  at  the  close  of  the  day.  We  placed 
the  bench  in  the  middle  of  the  room.  I  said 
that  if  anybody  wanted  God  to  take  the  devil 
out  of  his  heart  and  come  in  and  live  there  he 
had  better  get  down  on  his  knees  before  him; 
and  they  filled  the  bench. 

We  had  the  old-time  Methodist  shouting. 
Surely  the  Spirit  came  down  from  heaven,  for 
there  was  no  one  there  who  knew  anything 
about  shouting  in  meeting  or  had  ever  attended 
a  revival  and  seen  people  saved.  They  did  not 
shout  because  they  had  heard  other  people 
do  so.  No  one  there  knew  what  was  coming. 
I  myself  am  not  a  shouter ;  but  I  said  a 
loud  "  amen  "  to  it  all. 

Jacob  was  the  first  saved  ;  and  he  was  sweetly 
saved  and  testified  to  it.  lie  fell  over  the 
bench  and  lay  so  for  a  time  ;  but  when  he  had 
the  witness  of  his  salvation  he  was  on  his  feet 
shouting  the  praises  of  God.  Whom  the  Lord 
makes  free  are  free  indeed.  Little  Mary  and 
Lizzie  were  saved  also. 

The  next  day  we  had  an  early  morning  meet- 
ing, and  school  as  usual.  A  sweet,  quiet  spirit 
pervaded  our  home,  such  as  we  had  never  had 
before.  At  seven  in  the  evening  we  had  meet- 
ing again,  and  God  was  there  to  bless  and  save. 
All  who  were  not  converted  knelt  at  the  bench, 


276      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


and  four  of  them  were  saved — Tom,  Matilda, 
Nathan,  and  Scott.  I  felt  like  hiding  out  of 
sight  and  letting  the  blessing  comedown.  No 
tongue  can  tell  the  joy  that  filled  my  heart 
when  I  saw  those  saved  for  whom  I  had  labored 
and  lived  for  four  long  years. 

My  journal  is  full  on  the  work  of  these  days: 

"  Friday,  yamiary  20. — I  have  felt  that  we 
ought  to  be  quiet,  and  not  do  anything  that 
might  seem  like  indifference  and  grieve  the 
Holy  Spirit;  for  I  can  just  feel  that  he  is  hov- 
ering around  us,  ready  to  enter  the  willing 
heart. 

"  I  have  never  seen  the  devil  try  any  person 
as  he  has  our  Charles  ;  it  does  seem  as  if  the 
devil  makes  him  laugh  at  everything.  He  has 
seemed  unable  to  contain  himself  until  to-day  ; 
however,  all  this  day  he  has  been  very  quiet. 

"As  the  Zion  people  were  not  here  as  soon 
as  we  were  ready  for  service,  the  children  all 
being  hoarse  from  shouting  and  singing,  I  said 
they  had  better  get  down  and  pray.  They 
did,  and  Charles  was  the  first  to  pray ;  and  as 
he  did  not  stop  they  all  commenced,  and  they 
all  prayed  at  once.  The  Zion  people  came  in 
and  brought  some  town  people  with  them. 
Before  we  rose  to  our  feet  Charlie  was  saved. 
O,  he  was  so  very  happy,  and  shouted  all  kinds 


A  Revival. 


277 


of  praises  to  God,  aiul  begged  everybody  to 
just  open  his  licart  and  let  the  dear  Saviour 
come  ill.  It  was  such  a  sweet  meeting,  for  we 
all  felt  that  Jesus  was  there.  Although  none 
but  Charlie  was  saved,  we  had  agood  testimony 
meeting.  The  town  people  who  had  come  in 
were  afraid,  and  could  not  understand  how 
God's  people  could  be  so  happy. 

'''Saturday,  Jamtary  21. — Last  evening  we 
said  that  we  should  not  do  any  work  wc  could 
help,  but  wait  on  God  and  look  up  to  him  for 
an  especial  blessing.  The  children  did  the 
necessary  work  for  Saturday,  and  two  of  the 
larger  boys  went  to  the  bush  for  palm  nuts,  re- 
turning about  twelve  o'clock.  After  eating  their 
breakfast  the  children  all  sat  down  for  prayers. 
I  was  tired  and  lay  down  in  my  room  to  rest. 

"  As  I  closed  my  eyes  and  looked  up  to  God 
I  could  see  the  Spirit  hovering  over  us,  ready 
to  descend  in  blessing  upon  us.  I  could  not 
lie  quiet  any  longer,  so  got  up  and  went  to 
enjoy  the  blessing  with  the  children.  They 
were  on  their  knees  when  the  blessing  of  God 
came  down  upon  us.  Annie  was  the  first  to 
receive  Jesus  into  her  heart — she  is  five  years 
old ;  next  was  Solomon,  and  then  Will,  my 
two  little  boys  of  six  years.  I  have  never 
heard  children  shout  the  praises  of  God  as 
these  three  children  did. 


278      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 

"  At  tlic  time  that  \vc  were  praying  in  the 
mission  the  men  in  Zion  felt  the  Spirit  descend, 
and  at  once  Jacob  came  up  to  the  mission 
house.  Bestman  went  into  his  room  in  his 
own  house  in  Zion,  but  soon  felt  that  he  must 
come  to  the  mission  house. 

"  Daniel  ^vas  on  his  farm  near  by.  He  heard 
the  shouts  of  the  children  and  felt  that  he 
must  come  to  prayers.  He  dropped  his  cutlass 
and  cassada  stick,  which  he  was  using  on  the 
farm,  ran  to  Zion  for  his  Bible,  and  started  for 
the  mission  house.  When  he  came  to  the 
schoolhouse  he  felt  that  he  must  go  in  there. 
So  he  went  in  and  knelt  down  to  pray  for  him- 
self— he  was  not  yet  saved. 

"  Bestman,  who  had  been  praying  alone  at 
home,  felt  he  must  come  to  the  mission.  Not 
knowing  at  all  what  was  going  on  or  that  there 
was  anybody  there  before  him,  he,  too,  felt 
that  he  must  go  into  the  schoolhouse.  He 
went  in  ;  and,  not  knowing  Daniel  was  already 
there  praying,  he  knelt  at  the  other  end  of  the 
table  from  Daniel,  and  wrestled  with  God  for 
liberty  from  the  bondage  of  sin  that  held  him 
in  darkness  and  distress. 

"  We  were  still  on  our  knees  at  the  mis- 
sion house.  Soon  Charlie  went  to  the  door, 
an.d  came  back  and  said,  '  Teacher,  Best- 
man  is   saved.'     'How    do   you    know?'  I 


A  Rkvival. 


279 


asked.  lie  answered,  'I  hear  Iiiin  in  the 
schoolliouse.' 

"I  went  to  the  door  and  heard  him  praising 
God.  The  tiiree  htlle  children  who  had  just 
been  .•■■aved  were  still  on  their  feet  praising 
God,  and  I  left  them  there  and  went  to  Best- 
man  in  the  schoolliouse.  I  found  Bestman  and 
Daniel  on  their  knees  just  entering  the  king- 
dom, and  wet  with  perspiration  from  the 
struggle  to  get  free.  Soon  they  got  through  ; 
and  O  the  shouts  of  victory  from  those  two 
strong  men  !  They  threw  their  arms  around 
each  c:)ther,  danced  round  and  round  the  house, 
and  shook  everybody's  hand,  not  able  to  give 
expression  to  the  joy  they  felt  in  being  born 
again — born  of  God. 

"  I  don't  wonder  that  the  people  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost  thought  that  the  disciples  were 
full  of  new  wine.  I  should  never  be  able  to 
make  such  a  demonstration  myself;  but  I 
would  not  dare  to  say  it  was  not  of  God  and 
just  as  pleasing  to  him  as  my  own  quiet  way. 
God  has  many  ways  of  manifesting  his  power 
to  men. 

"  A  man  came  in  from  town  just  as  the  two 
men  were  rejoicing  and  telling  what  God  had 
done  for  them.  He  was  very  much  afraid,  and 
felt  that  the  presence  of  God  was  with  us.  He 
wanted  to  leave  ;  but  I  told  him  that  God  was 


28o      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


here  and  had  come  to  save  sinners,  and  that 
he  must  not  go  now.  He  remained  until  we 
all  left  the  sclioolhouse,  and  then  went  to  town 
very  much  impressed  with  what  had  been  done. 

"  After  spending  some  time  in  testimony  and 
praise  to  God  for  his  goodness  we  parted,  and 
the  men  went  home  to  tell  what  great  things 
the  Lord  had  done  for  them. 

"  In  the  evening  we  all  met  again.  Nobody 
could  sing  much,  so  we  all  prayed.  A  number 
of  the  town  people  came  in.  It  was  the  work 
of  those  who  were  converted  to  go  and  bring 
somebody  else  ;  so  they  brought  their  unsaved 
friends.  We  all  knelt  in  prayer,  those  seeking 
the  Saviour  kneeling  at  the  altar.  How  won- 
derfully God  showed  his  power  among  us ! 
All  in  the  room  testified,  '  Surely  the  Lord  is 
in  this  place.' 

"  The  unsaved  and  those  who  had  come  just 
to  see,  never  having  seen  anything  of  the  kind 
before  and  not  knowing  that  there  was  such  a 
thing  as  being  born  again,  were  afraid,  and 
went  to  town  and  reported  that  it  was  the 
big  devil  who,  they  believe,  lives  on  the  hill 
in  the  big  trees,  and  that  he  had  made  us  crazy. 
Four  were  saved,  and  there  were  still  more 
seeking  at  the  altar.  We  separated  at  half- 
past  nine,  and  all  went  home  rejoicing  in  what 
God  had  done  for  us. 


A  Revival. 


281 


"  Sunday,  January  22. — The  Sabbath  day. 
We  all  went  to  town  to  tell  the  good  news  and 
invite  sinners  to  conrie  to  Jesus  and  be  saved, 
taking  for  our  text,  '  Humble  yourselves  in  the 
sight  of  the  Lord,  and  he  shall  lift  you  up.' 
We  had  a  very  interesting  meeting,  and  then 
went  home  for  our  regular  morning  service  at 
eleven  o'clock.  After  reading  the  Scriptures, 
especially  some  of  the  promises  to  those  who 
are  seeking  Jesus,  we  knelt  in  prayer.  All 
who  were  not  saved  knelt  at  the  altar. 

"  One  of  my  big  boys,  who  had  been  seeking 
and  had  one  night  testified  that  he  believed 
God  had  forgiven  his  sins,  had  since  doubted 
and  was  in  darkness.  When  we  knelt  I  began 
to  pray,  and  he  came  and  put  his  hands  on  my 
shoulders  and  said,  '  Teacher.'  I  at  once  took 
hold  of  his  hands  and,  without  asking  him 
what  he  wanted,  began  to  pray  for  him.  It 
was  only  a  few  minutes  till  he  fell  back  with 
the  power  of  God  and  began  to  roll  on  the 
floor.  He  surely  did  act  like  a  crazy  boy,  and 
tore  his  shirt  all  to  pieces.  He  rolled  out  of 
the  door  on  to  the  veranda,  and  fell  from  there 
to  the  ground,  a  foot  below.  For  about  half 
an  hour  he  kept  it  up,  rolling  all  around  the 
yard.  When  the  devil  was  cast  out  he  rose  to 
his  feet,  but  'walking,  and  leaping,  and  prais- 
ing God  '  was  not  sufficient  to  give  expression 


282      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


to  the  joy  he  felt  in  his  heart.  After  a  testi 
mony  meeting  we  went  home  for  dinner. 

"  In  the  evening  we  all  went  out  and 
marched  around  to  three  towns,  then  to  Bai- 
lie, the  king's  town.  We  went  inside  Samp- 
son's house,  and  had  such  a  meeting  as  we 
had  never  had  in  Garraway  before.  We 
praised  God,  testified,  and  sang  the  songs  of 
Zion.  God's  Spirit  was  with  us  to  convince 
the  people  of  sin  and  of  his  power  to  save. 
Captain  was  saved,  and  the  people  in  town 
could  but  believe  in  the  power  of  God.  Many 
of  them  were  afraid. 

"  Monday,  January  23. — I  could  not  sleep 
last  night ;  in  fact,  have  not  slept  nor  eaten 
much  for  the  last  week.  At  the  break  of  day 
I  called  all  the  children,  and  we  went  to  Tyes 
town — one  of  the  towns  quite  near.  We  did 
not  go  alone,  for  God,  our  great  Leader,  was 
with  us,  and  the  people  knew  we  had  not  come 
of  ourselves.  When  in  town  I  felt  that  I 
should  stay  there  ;  but  the  rest  seemed  ready 
to  go  back.  So  I  thought  that  perhaps  it 
was  not  of  God  that  we  should  stay,  and  so  we 
all  went  home.  I  lay  down  to  rest,  and  the 
children  got  breakfast. 

"  As  I  lay  there  I  felt  that  I  ought  to  go  to 
town  and  stay  with  the  people,  but  they  were 
having  a  big  dance  and  drinking  rum.  One 


A  Revival. 


283 


of  the  traders  had  been  to  tlic  Cape  and  had 
brought  back  some  rum  to  treat  the  women, 
who  were  having  a  big  drink.  I  knew  if  we 
had  stayed  in  town  in  the  morning  they  would 
not  have  had  their  play  that  day,  for  I  had 
called  at  the  trader's  house,  and  he,  with  two 
other  men,  had  hidden  in  a  small  room.  I 
called  them  all  by  name,  but  they  refused  to 
answer  me  or  come  out  of  the  room.  I  knelt 
on  the  ground  at  the  open  door  and  prayed 
God  to  have  mercy  upon  them  and  help  them 
to  turn  from  the  life  they  were  leading. 

"  The  people  were  afraid,  for  we  commenced 
just  where  they  were  and  at  what  they  already 
believed — that  the  sky  was  coming  down.  We 
read  2  Peter  iii,  8-15.  I  told  them  that  I  had 
now  been  here  four  years,  and  they  saw  what  I 
wasdointj.  I  was  not  trading.  I  was  not  mak- 
ing  money.  Since  I  had  been  here  I  had  been 
reading  the  Bible  to  them  and  telling  them 
about  God,  and  that  Jesus  came  and  lived 
and  died  in  this  world  to  save  sinners. 

"  I  had  taught  that  when  people  died  they 
could  not  live  with  God  in  the  good  world  if 
they  did  not  do  his  way  while  they  lived  here; 
but  that  the  devil  had  a  very  bad  place  where 
he  and  his  angels  lived,  and  when  people  died 
who  did  not  keep  God's  law  while  they  were 
in  this  world  God  would  not  let  them  come 


284      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


into  his  home,  because  they  would  make  pa- 
hiver  (disputes)  there  and  not  keep  his  law. 
God's  home  in  the  sky — they  believe  that  God 
lives  in  the  sky — would  be  spoiled  by  these  bad 
people,  just  as  this  world  was.  So,  when  God 
would  not  let  them  come  in,  the  devil  would 
just  pull  them  down  to  hell.  They  are  familiar 
with  the  word  '  hell,'  having  learned  it  as  a  curse- 
word  at  sea,  and  know  it  is  some  bad  place. 

"  I  said  that  I  was  glad  that  their  fathers 
had  told  them  about  the  sky's  coming  down, 
and  that  my  father  had  told  me ;  and  that 
when  I  had  learned  to  read  the  Book  I  had 
read  it  there  myself.  The  white  people  be- 
lieved it,  too — anybody  that  could  read  the 
Book  could  read  it  for  himself.  I  had  come  to 
their  country  to  tell  it  to  them,  because  I 
thought  they  did  not  know.  When  Jesus  was 
here  in  this  world  he  said  that  when  all  the 
people  knew  of  him,  '  then  shall  the  end  come  ' 
(Matt,  xxiv,  14). 

"'If  you  do  not  get  ready,'  I  told  them, 
'  God  won't  wait  long  for  you.  He  is  waiting 
now — that  is  what  the  Book  says.  But  when 
God  sees  you  make  "hard  head  '"(an  expression 
much  used  among  them,  meaning  stubborn- 
ness) '  he  will  cut  you  down  at  once — that  is 
what  he  tells  us.  He  is  sparing  you  a  little 
while,  just  to  see  if  you  will  receive  him  ;  and 


A  Revival. 


285 


if  not,  you  shall  be  cut  down.  "  Why  cumber- 
eth  it  the  ground  ?  "  ' 

"  Many  came.  Others  feared  to  come  where 
we  were.  A  man  in  the  adjoining  house  came 
and  knelt  down,  and  after  a  time  became  so 
alarmed  that  he  went  back  into  his  house  and 
tried  to  hide  behind  a  box.  I  went  in  to  find 
him.  He  was  trembling,  and  said,  '  O  yes,  I 
know  I  ought  to  leave  devil  way  ;  I  am  afraid 
of  God  to-day.' 

"  Soon  after  he  was  taken  sick,  but  refused 
to  yield  to  God.  He  counted  the  approval  of 
his  neighbors  and  idols  of  more  value  than  the 
blessing  God  was  holding  out  to  him.  He 
died,  soon  after,  as  he  had  lived.  It  was  his 
last  chance.  Poor  Baffalo!  in  trying  to  please 
his  gods,  which  the  devil-doctor  had  said  were 
angry  with  him  because  he  would  not  be  a 
devil-doctor,  he  joined  the  devil-doctors  and 
took  a  few  lessons;  but  God  had  said,  'Cut  it 
down,'  and  he  died. 

"  I  went  to  Zion  and  told  the  men  that  I 
felt  I  ought  to  go  to  town  and  stay  there ; 
that  when  we  were  in  town  the  people  felt  the 
presence  of  God  ;  and  that  when  we  went  back 
to  the  mission  they  felt  that  we  were  gone 
and  the  devil  had  charge  again.  After  supper 
I  told  the  children  to  get  my  cot  ready,  for  I 
believed  God  wanted  me  to  stay  in  town. 
19 


286      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


"  So,  we  started  for  town,  carrying  the  bed 
with  us.  We  had  a  good  meeting,  keeping 
this  one  thing  before  the  people — tliat  the  sky 
was  coming  down,  and  we  had  come  to  tell 
them  that  God  said  it,  and  he  was  not  a  man, 
that  he  should  lie.  They  should  believe  it  and 
come  to  Jesus,  and  he  would  take  the  devil 
out  of  them,  who  did  not  live  in  the  bushes,  as 
some  of  them  say,  but  in  their  hearts.  Unless 
they  got  him  out  now  where  would  they  go 
when  the  sky  came  down  ?  With  the  devil  in 
the  fire  in  hell — no  place  else  ! 

"  I  stood  at  Sampson's  place  and  called  out 
the  names  of  all  the  chiefs  in  the  town,  and 
told  them  we  had  come  to  beg  them  to  be- 
lieve in  God,  not  the  devil ;  to  trust  in  Jesus, 
not  the  devil,  and  be  ready ;  for  true,  true,  the 
sky  was  coming  down,  and  I  did  not  know 
what  day,  and  God  said  nobody  should  know 
but  himself.  The  only  thing  for  us  to  do  was 
to  get  ready,  for  it  would  come  '  like  a  thief  in 
the  night.' 

"We  said  we  had  come  to  stay,  and  if  they 
would  not  let  us  sleep  in  their  houses  we  would 
sleep  on  the  ground.  I  consulted  the  con- 
verts. They  said,  '  Yes,  and  if  need  be  we 
will  die  for  the  souls  of  our  friends.  We  have 
come  to  stay.'  So  I  said  that  if  they  would 
not  give  us  anything  to  eat  I  would  give  my 


A  Revival. 


287 


life  for  them,  and  they  could  carry  my  body  to 
Zion  and  bury  it  there.  '  But  don't,'  I  said, 
'  let  the  grass  grow  over  me ;  for,  living  or 
dying,  I  beg  of  you  to  be  saved  by  the  blood, 
for  there  is  no  other  way  to  God's  country.' 

"  I  dismissed  the  meeting  and  said,  '  Now 
go  to  bed  and  sleep  ;  but  if  the  sky  comes 
down  to-night  what  will  you  do?'  They  re- 
fused to  go  away,  so  I  said,  '  Well,  you  must 
come  here  and  kneel  down  and  beg  God  to 
save  you.'  A  great  many  came.  We  prayed 
for  the  presence  of  the  Spirit  to  show  the  need 
of  a  Saviour." 

O,  the  darkness  of  the  heathen  mind,  all 
blinded  with  the  superstitions  of  years,  so  in- 
capable of  comprehending  the  things  of  God 
at  first,  until  these  obstructions  have  moved 
out  of  the  way!  They  say,  "  My  father  told 
me  to  wear  these  charms,  worship  these  gods  " 
— or,  rather,  make  offerings  to  them,  for  the 
African  is  not  a  worshiper  in  the  sense  that 
we  use  the  word  "  worship."  He  makes  offer- 
ings to  appease  the  wrath  of  the  dead  and  of 
the  evil  spirits.  If  he  does  not  attend  to  these 
duties,  he  believes  that  any  calamity  that  may 
come  to  him  is  the  result  of  his  neglect,  or  of 
the  wrath  of  some  witch  man  or  woman. 

So,  in  keeping  the  law  of  his  fathers  he  has 


288      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


a  certain  sort  of  peace.  Yet  God  in  his  mercy 
to  man  has  left  him  "  without  excuse."  He 
has  the  law  of  God  written  on  his  heart,  and, 
although  he  has  "  changed  the  truth  of  God 
into  a  lie,"  yet  the  original  stamp  remains, 
and  when  you  get  down  to  it  his  heart  re- 
sponds, and  he  can  hear  a  voice  within  him 
saying,  "  This  is  the  way,  walk  ye  in  it." 
The  journal  of  this  day  continues : 

"  It  was  growing  late,  and  Sampson  had 
gone.  He  was  afraid,  and  did  not  know  what 
to  do.  He  was  under  conviction,  and  had 
been  on  his  knees  praying,  but,  fearing  he 
might  get  saved  and  become  a  Christian,  he 
had  left  and  was  not  to  be  found.  We  took 
possession  of  his  largest  house.  Finding  mats 
tied  up  to  the  ceiling,  we  took  them  down  and 
made  our  beds,  the  children  and  myself,  four- 
teen in  all. 

"  As  no  person  put  in  an  appearance  we  lay 
down  to  sleep,  after  shutting  the  doors.  When 
all  was  quiet,  Sampson  came  and  called  out, 
'Teacher,  did  you  get  a  bed?'  I  said,  'Yes; 
where  are  you  going  to  sleep  ? '  '  O,  I'll  find  a 
place,'  he  answered." 

No  amount  of  "excitement"  could  have 
put  mc  through  what  I  went  through  that 


A  Revival. 


289 


month.  But  I  believe  God  docs  not  always 
choose  persons  especially  gifted,  but  those  who 
will  deliver  the  message  he  gives.  How  often 
have  you  thought  you  should  speak  to  some 
person  about  his  soul,  yet,  because  it  would 
seem  out  of  place  or  you  would  seem  peculiar, 
you  have  not  done  so  ?  "  Be  not  conformed 
to  this  world."  What  does  that  mean  but 
that  we  are  not  to  be  as  they  are  or  do  as 
they  do  ?  "A  peculiar  people."  O,  how  we 
shrink  from  being  peculiar!  How  we  rob  God 
of  his  glory  and  retard  the  wheels  of  the  Gos- 
pel chariot  by  not  delivering  the  message  given 
by  the  King  !  Let  us  fear  to  disobey  our  God, 
though  all  the  people  think  us  peculiar  or 
crazy  and  fail  not  to  report  their  opinion  of  us. 

The  father  of  one  of  our  girls  from  the  in- 
terior heard  that  I  had  gone  crazy  and  had 
seen  the  devil,  and  came  down  in  great  haste 
one  morning  to  see  what  was  to  be  done  with 
his  daughter.  When  he  came  he  at  once  told 
me  what  had  brought  him,  and  said,  "  O,  I  be 
very  glad  to  see  you  better ;  we  hear  news  in 
our  town  that  you  be  sick  bad." 

"  No,  no,"  I  said,  "  I  am  not  sick,  but  the  Gar- 
raway  people  told  me  some  big  news.  Do  you 
know  the  sky  is  coming  down  ?  " 

He  answered,  "  I  have  been  hear  about  that 
when  I  was  a  small  boy,  and  it  make  me  afraid  ; 


290      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


but  this  time  I  think  the  sky  is  no  fit  to  come 
down  no  more." 

After  some  conversation  on  the  traditions 
and  customs  of  the  people,  referring  especially 
to  their  custom  of  firing  guns,  beating  drums, 
and  blowing  their  war  horns,  in  time  of  a 
thunderstorm,  with  the  hope  that  the  great 
noise  may  reach  God's  car  and  he  be  persuaded 
to  have  mercy  on  them  and  not  let  the  sky 
down  for  the  present,  he  said,  "  You  talk  true  ; 
we  all  do  that."  After  I  had  read  some  pas- 
sages from  the  Word  to  him,  he  said,  "  Them 
book  talk  true  ;  we  know  this  world  can  finish." 

He  is  one  of  many  that  have  the  truth  of 
God  written  on  their  hearts.  God  has  given 
us  the  work  of  lifting  up  Jesus  to  a  perishing 
world,  and  the  heathen  feel  their  need  of  him 
as  other  sinners  do.  We  had  those  among  us 
who,  when  we  came,  were  in  sin  and  caring  for 
none  of  God's  ways ;  but,  because  we  told 
them  of  a  Saviour  and  pointed  them  to  him 
who  alone  can  save,  they  have  been  persuaded 
to  turn  to  him  for  salvation,  and  are  now  re- 
joicing in  his  love. 

When  we  went  to  Garraway,  six  and  a  half 
years  ago,  there  was  no  knowledge  of  the  Sab- 
bath, no  religious  services,  no  school,  not  one 
person  that  could  spell  or  write  his  own  name. 
Now  the  people  know  that  the  seventh  day  is 


A  Revival. 


291 


the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  our  God,  to  be  kept 
holy. 

We  have  a  church  organization,  althougli 
not  a  church  building.  The  services  are  held 
in  the  mission  house.  We  have  thirty-two 
members.  Every  Sabbath  morning  we  have 
open-air  meetings  in  two  towns.  At  eleven 
o'clock  wc  have  the  regular  morning  serv- 
ice, followed  by  a  fellowship  meeting  at  the 
close.  At  four  o'clock  we  have  Sabbath  school. 
Wednesday  evening  we  have  our  regular  prayer 
meeting  ;  and  Friday  evening  the  children  have 
their  meeting. 

On  a  moonlight  night  it  is  a  very  common 
thing  for  some  of  our  members  to  march  into 
the  town,  sing  up  a  crowd  of  the  people,  in- 
terest them  by  telling  them  of  God  and  eternal 
life,  and  urge  them  to  accept  salvation.  The 
native  children  in  the  towns  sometimes  gather 
together  and  go  from  town  to  town  singing- 
Gospel  songs. 

In  our  Christian  town,  Zion,  our  people 
gather  at  the  close  of  the  day  in  somebody's 
house  or  yard,  and  have  worship  together  be- 
fore retiring.  These  gatherings  are  often  rather 
prayer  meetings  than  family  worship,  as  they 
sing,  recite  Bible  verses,  and  sometimes  have  an 
experience  meeting.  And  they  have  an  ex- 
perience to  tell. 


292      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


I  give  hero  a  letter  I  received  fruin  one  of 
our  boys  when  I  was  away  from  home.  He 
has  been  in  the  school  four  and  a  half  years. 
He  knew  nothing  of  books,  and  but  few  Eng- 
lish words,  when  he  came  : 

"  Garrawav,  September  17,  1895. 
"  My  Dear  Teacher  : 

"  I  received  your  letter.  We  all  are  well. 
We  have  been  in  the  interior  and  cleaned  the 
coffee  there,  and  have  had  a  good  time.  I 
wish  you  were  here  to  eat  some  of  the  palm 
butter  and  rice. 

"  Hallelujah  !  We  are  doing  all  we  can  to 
stir  this  country  for  God.  The  people  are 
hungry  for  the  real  Gospel.  We  are  expecting 
to  see  done  that  shall  astonish  men  and  devils 
and  glorify  our  God  forever.  We  praise  the 
Lord  for  those  he  has  saved,  and  ask  for  more 
and  more.    O  hallelujah  ! 

"  These  are  the  very  best  days  of  all  my  life 
— days  of  sharp  contest  with  the  foe  and  com- 
plete and  sweeping  victory.  It  seems  to  me 
that  the  sur^light  of  heaven  never  shone  so 
bright  on  my  soul  as  now.  The  cross  never 
seemed  so  precious,  the  way  so  bright,  and  our 
lovely  Jesus  so  near  and  dear.  Bless  his  name  ! 
Fellow-workers,  I  am  with  you  to  stand  by  this 
clean  way  until  I  lay  down  the  cross  and  re- 


A  Revival. 


293 


ccivc  the  crown.  Allien  !  Let  us  be  true  to 
the  trust  lie  has  left  us,  and  never  shrink  or 
falter,  gladly  bearing  the  cross. 

*'  Your  loving  boy, 

"  Samuel  James  Mony." 

This  letter  of  Samuel's  shows  what  has  been 
done  for  him  in  our  day  school.  We  have  upon 
an  average  twelve  scholars,  and  teach  five  days 
in  tlie  week. 

Many  of  our  people  are  very  proud  of  what 
they  have  accomplished  ;  and  they  have  reason 
to  be.  The  mission  has  done  for  them  what 
nothing  else  has  ever  done  ;  and  some  of  the 
old  heathen  men,  who  never  intend  to  become 
Christians  themselves,  will  encourage  the 
young  men  and  say,  "You  must  do  this  new 
way ;  our  old  fashion  never  fit  to  do  us  better." 
And  when  they  see  their  sons  learning  to  read 
and  write  and  dressed  like  civilized  people 
they  feel  that  brighter  days  have  come  to  them, 
and  hope  that  they  may  rise  from  the  igno- 
rance of  the  past  to  enjoy  the  advantages  and 
privileges  that  civilization  and  Christianity 
bring  to  every  nation  where  they  are  received. 
The  natives  know  a  good  thing  when  they  see 
it,  and  are  quite  convinced  that  the  mission 
has  done  them  more  good  than  anything  they 
could  do  for  themselves. 


294      A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa. 


Africa  is  the  land  to  wliich  all  eyes  are  being 
turned  in  these  days.  It  offers  to  the  explorer 
the  grandest  lakes,  rivers,  and  forests  the  world 
can  give ;  to  the  hunter,  all  kinds  of  game  ;  to 
the  miner,  untold  wealth.  But  to  the  mission- 
ary it  is,  in  these  last  days,  the  land  where 
jewels  bright  and  sparkling  are  to  be  found, 
that  shall  shine  through  all  eternity  as  stars  in 
the  crown  of  Him  who  died  to  save  the  lost. 

Fellow-missionaries,  let  us  rejoice,  even  if 
things  may  look  dark  before  us  at  times.  I  have 
seen  very  dark  days  in  Garraway,  and  know  I 
shall  see  them  again  ;  but  God  lives,  and  has 
given  us  many  blessings  along  the  way.  Some- 
times it  looks  as  if  the  people  will  not  accept 
the  Gospel ;  but  when  the  darkness  is  past,  if 
we  have  trusted  God  through  it,  we  can  see  the 
rays  of  light  on  the  other  side.  Let  us  praise 
our  Almighty  God  and  exalt  his  name  to- 
gether. The  showers  are  coming ;  these  are 
only  the  first  drops  we  feel  now  to  tell  us  the 
season  has  come. 

Some  people  very  skeptically  ask,  "  Do  you 
think  you  are  doing  any  good  ?  Have  you 
any  idea  that  the  native  people  will  accept 
Christianity  or  be  benefited  by  your  going  to 
them?"  O  yes,  if  I  believe  there  is  a  God, 
whose  word  we  read,  I  must'  believe  that  it  is 
doing  good  to  obey  his  voice.    Even  in  my 


A  Revival. 


295 


short  day  I  have  seen  his  word  fulfilled  in  so 
many  ways  that  I  must  believe  it  all. 

The  little  stone  that  Nebuchadnezzar  saw, 
that  struck  his  powerful  image  and  sent  it  like 
chaff  before  the  wind,  is  this  Jesus  that  we 
preach.  Let  us  obey  his  every  command,  heed- 
ing not  how  dark  it  looks  to  human  eyes  if  only 
we  have  Jesus  on  our  side. 

"  We're  a  band  that  shall  conquer  the  foe, 
If  we  fight  in  the  strength  of  the  King  ; 

With  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  we  know 
We  shall  sinners  to  Calvary  bring." 


THE  END. 


i 


DATE  DUE 

I— — ■  ■•"-''"^■tli 



if^  TJ  J 

DEMCO  38-297 

